


Sugar and Spice

by NuclearPoweredStick



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-01-12 00:11:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 43,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18434999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NuclearPoweredStick/pseuds/NuclearPoweredStick
Summary: Not long after they start dating, Star wakes up one morning beside a confused and shaken Marco, with no memory of the previous night. As they begin to learn about what took place, Star and Marco have to fight to stop it from happening again.





	1. The Deep End

Marco Diaz stared up at the bedroom ceiling, shellshocked, unable to move.  
  
As he stewed alone with his thoughts, his room laid silent except for the sound of gentle breathing. His body has been breaking out in sweat periodically from a combination of worry and the excessive heat under the covers. It all still felt like a dream. Or a nightmare. Maybe a little of both. His head pounded from the total lack of sleep as the events of the previous night played over and over in his mind. He had no idea how he was supposed feel about his predicament. How he actually did feel wasn't much more clear. It was a confusing mix of joy, satisfaction, pain, exhaustion, concern, fear, and a few other emotions he didn't recognize. As his thoughts looped around the same mental track they'd been following for hours, he was interrupted by a soft yawn and warm body stirring against him.  
  
"Mmph... morning, Marco."  
  
In recent weeks, it hadn't been unusual for Star to wake up in Marco's arms. Despite the typical implications, their encounters had actually been relatively chaste. Though Star no longer lived in Marco's house, they each had a pair of fully functional dimensional scissors and an abundance of free time during the summer months. They had begun regular friendly visits, and their family and friends were happy to see the two reunited after being apart due to Toffee's return. On top of their usual, not at all secret visits, they'd been sneaking off to spend the night with each other as often as they thought they could get away with it. Currently, they had only been dating for a few weeks, and were still exploring their new, deeper relationship. With most of the seasonal break still ahead of them, the young couple were happy enough to take it slow and steady. They enjoyed being able to sleep together, but both had agreed they weren't quite ready to SLEEP together.  
  
As Star began to shake off the haze of slumber, she turned to look over at Marco, blinking in confusion as she noticed his thousand yard stare. Surprised, and propping herself up on her arms a bit to get a better look, Star discovered just a bit too much of Marco's bare chest showing up above the blankets. Her level of alertness started to rise even faster as she realized the sensation against her skin wasn't the fabric of her nightgown, or even Marco's pajamas, but his flesh against her own. Star's eyes went wide as she pulled away slightly and laid back flat onto the bed next to Marco, joining her lover in gazing up at the ceiling. Star's voice shook slightly as her eyes glanced over at Marco, body frozen solid.  
  
"Marco?"  
"Yes?"  
"Did we...?"  
"Yes."  
"I don't remember..."  
"I do."  
  
For the tiniest fraction of a second, Star wondered what Marco had done to her, but immediately felt guilty for even considering it. Marco would never... and besides, while she was distressed, he looked nearly traumatized. Star reached a hand out to his shoulder to comfort him, but he instantly recoiled, not in fear but in pain. "Ow, owwwwww! Star, please... most of me is still REALLY sore."  
  
Star drew away, concerned, but respecting Marco's wishes as she laid back beside him. Slowly, very slowly, memories of the previous night started to come back to her.  
  
A few weeks previous, Star and Marco had rescued Glossaryck, and after his recovery he had been able to restore Star's wand and the Book of Spells. Toffee had survived, but he was licking his wounds and no one expected to see him again for some time. After being freed from Toffee's control, Ludo had wandered off somewhere to try to "find himself", whatever that meant. Eclipsa's fractured stasis crystal had been resealed by Glossaryck personally. Though they hadn't seen much of Jackie lately, her breakup with Marco had been relatively clean, all things considered. With all major threats contained for the foreseeable future, and with the two teens finally starting to come to terms with their feelings for each other, Star and Marco had quietly begun dating. Now, with a fair amount of summer left, they were enjoying their newfound romance, taking it slow, and getting to know each other in an exciting new way.  
  
Still, Star had her duties to attend to. Even with some of the immediate pressure off, Moon pushed her to continue her magical training under Glossaryck. And so last night Star had found herself, yet again, laying face down on her bed and flipping through her Book of Spells, looking for something interesting enough to ask Glossaryck about.  
  
"Turn lead into gold... boring. Lost magic of Atlantis... snoresville! Endless fountain of chocolate milk..." Star paused, slipping an official Love Sentence bookmark between the pages, a mischievous grin forming on her face. "Soon. Veeeeeeeery soon." As she continued through the book, an unusual chapter title caught her eye.  
  
\- Everything You Wanted to Know About Magic (But Were Afraid to Ask) -  
  
Star drummed her fingers on her bed, wondering what could be so scary. "Hmm. Wellllllllllllll, I don't think there's ever been anything I was afraid to ask..." Star turned the book around to face it toward her mentor, who was relaxing on the far side of the bed. "Hey Glossaryck, what's this about?"  
  
Glossaryck looked up from clipping all twelve of his fingernails. For a split second, a look of shock crossed his face, but he quickly forced himself into a bored gaze, hoping he could throw her off the trail. "Oh, that chapter. You, ah... you probably don't want to read that one. I- it's nothing that would interest you."  
  
Star looked back at the page, curious about the vagueness of the title. She wasn't sure if Glossaryck was telling the truth or playing another one of his weird training games. "Why, what is it?"  
  
Glossaryck let out a deep sigh, rubbing the tips of his fingers into his forehead. He'd been dreading this once in a generation conversation for several years now, but it looked like there was no getting out of it. He steeled himself and began.  
  
"Uhh... w- well. You see Star, the book and wand have been passed down between the women of the Butterfly family for centuries. The heir receives them on her 14th birthday, right around the time she becomes a woman."  
  
Star knew that much already. She raised an eyebrow, shrugging, unsure of what Glossaryck was getting at. "So?"  
  
Glossaryck pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. This was going to be a tough one. "So... this chapter is a collection of certain magic and, ah... special advice... for girls once they reach a certain age. Healthy young girls. Active young girls."  
  
Star smiled wide, shooting bolt upright in the bed. "I'm a healthy and active young girl! Sounds perfect!"  
  
Glossaryck groaned in frustration. "Oy... you're killin' me, kid."  He had reached the point where he began to seriously consider temporarily repossessing the book. Technically, he was allowed to, and had done so once or twice before when absolutely necessary. But before he could even finish the thought, Star was flipping rapidly through the pages.  
  
"What's in it? Forbidden fitness secrets? Extreme wand sports? DRAGON WRESTLING!?" Glossaryck raised a finger and opened his mouth to speak, but it was too late. Star's pace gradually slowed as she started to absorb the contents, pupils shrinking to almost nothing as her hand refused to turn any more pages. "Oh. Ohhh. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Healthy and..."  
  
"Active, yes." Glossaryck completed the thought.  
  
Star simply stared at the book, opened to a section on ancient kissing magic. Other pages she'd passed along the way had been significantly more, well, spicy. "Glossaryck, wha..." If she wasn't afraid to ask before, she was now.  
  
This chapter was one part of the job that Glossaryck would never get used to. It wasn't that he was shy about the subject itself. He had seen too much in his countless millennia of life to be embarrassed about anything anymore. Still, he found explaining it to a young student to be... uncomfortable. Moon had emphasized repeatedly that she didn't feel Star was ready for this particular chapter. While Glossaryck had never once allowed any queen to overrule him when it came to magical education, he preferred to leave it to their parents to teach them about matters of the heart. And loins.  
  
Glossaryck resigned himself to reciting the history of the chapter. That part was easy enough, and he hoped it wouldn't go any further. Maybe it would be enough to satisfy Star's curiosity. Glossaryck closed his eyes, assuming the tone and posture of his formal role as a mentor, and began his explanation. "This chapter was originally written by Aphrodisia the Amorous, one of the very first Mewman queens."  
  
Star thought back to her knowledge of the old queens of Mewni. She had never been the best history student, but there was one record of her heritage that she knew well. "Aphrodisia? I don't remember her from the Grandma Room."  
  
"Yes, well... there's a reason she doesn't come up much in Mewman history. Aphrodisia's reign was short, and she didn't do much actual ruling. According to her she was too rutting busy, or the other way around." Those weren't quite the words she had used, but Glossaryck had caught more than one earful from Moon about watching his language around Star. "To no one's surprise, she gave birth to a daughter soon after her marriage and ascent to the throne, but only a few years later Aphrodisia was struck down in her prime by a magically transmitted disease."  
  
"Gross," Star gagged as she interjected.  
  
Glossaryck nodded, grimacing. "Imagine how I felt having to diagnose it. If there's one good thing that came out of that whole fiasco, it's that protection spells have gotten much better." Glossaryck cleared his throat and continued. "Anyway, like all the book's owners, she recorded as much of her collected knowledge as she could. Not everything in this chapter is by her though. In fact, almost every Mewman queen has added at least a few things."  
  
A terrifying thought crossed Star's mind as she considered Glossaryck words. She was almost sure she would regret voicing it, but she felt she would never have another chance.  
  
" ... almost every queen?"  
"Yes."  
"Does that include-"  
"Yes."  
"What-"  
  
"Some things she adapted from her pole dancing class, and that's already more than you need to know. Look, you really shouldn't read any of this, but if you do, I'm going to give you the same advice I give every princess when they find this chapter. If you value your sanity, do NOT, under any circumstances, read the section written by your own mother."  
  
Star gave a shudder and switched her mental tracks to immediately derail that train of thought. Her previous curiosity was quickly becoming overwhelmed by absolute disgust. For the briefest moment she had wondered if her mother even had any interest in that sort of thing beyond having children. Now she found that her initial instinct had been right and wished she had never asked.  
  
Glossaryck gave an ever so slight smirk as Star grimaced at the book. He knew she'd read the chapter eventually. They always did. Hopefully though, it would be enough to put her off it for now, or at least buy some time for him to talk to Moon. That was not a conversation he looked forward to. "Honestly Star, y- you're better off just skipping the whole thing." Glossaryck's voice broke Star out of her thoughts. "Read too much of this and you just might regret it in the morning."  
  
Star closed the book, simply frozen for a few solid seconds. Taking a deep breath to regain her composure, she opened the book again and flipped through to find her earlier bookmark. "Uhmmmmmmm... maybe let's work on the chocolate fountain spell."  
  
Glossaryck nodded with a more genuine smile, relieved to be out of Aphrodisia's chapter and back in his element with something they could both enjoy. "Excellent choice! A Festivia the Fun original, and one of my personal favorites. You know, with just a few alterations you can turn it from chocolate milk into chocolate pudding..."  
  
A few hours afterward, Star found herself lying wide awake in bed. The chocolate fountain had gone well enough, except for her lingering sugar high. Unable to sleep, her mind buzzed with a thousand thoughts. She briefly considered popping across the dimensions to see Marco, but after narrowly escaping being caught absent from the castle the previous night, they had both agreed she should stay home for a day or two.  
  
Her thoughts wandered further, continuing to try to find something to do with her insomnia now that most of the castle had turned in for the night. Before long, an idea struck her. Star wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but she was sure it wouldn't be a boring one. She tiptoed over to her dresser, resting her hands on the Books of Spells.  
  
Slowly, quietly, Star pried open the tome, careful not to wake Glossaryck. She found him between the pages, fast asleep as he laid on a tiny pillow, mumbling quietly. "That's right slave, scrape those sides... do it for Star, you pathetic little mrrhhhhmmmmhmmmm..." Glossaryck turned over with a snore and a smile, lost in what appeared to be a happy dream.  
  
Star grinned as she whispered to herself. "Awww..." She carefully picked up Glossaryck by his robe, kissing his forehead gem as she laid him on her extra pillow and pulled the blanket over him, the bed drastically oversized for his tiny body. "Sleep tight, little angel."  
  
Using the bookmark she placed earlier for the chocolate fountain spell, Star was quickly able to locate the nearby section she was looking for. Aphrodisia's chapter. As she stared at the title page once again, she contemplated whether Glossaryck maybe had a point. Most of what she'd seen inside had been far more extreme than anything she'd yet experienced. Even at Star and Marco's most intense encounter so far, their clothes had remained mostly in place. Mostly.  
  
On the other hand... maybe Star wasn't exactly active, but she was healthy. Lately, Star found that things with Marco were slowly getting more... steamy. Even when they were "only" best friends, they had never been shy about physical contact, and had even seen each other in a state of relative undress. But this was different. Now every hug felt more intimate, every touch more electric than the last. Though they had both agreed not to rush, she had felt a warm tension building between them as they continued to explore further and further, and sooner or later she felt like it would snap. Star wasn't sure she would complain if it did. As much as she appreciated the simple joys of her budding romance with Marco, Star craved more. More excitement. More heat. More passion. More Marco. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable, but maybe, just maybe she could find something in Aphrodisia's chapter that would help them along.  
  
After all, what could it hurt? Star had survived far greater temptations, despite Glossaryck's concerns. Well, she agreed with her teacher on one thing. She'd stay away from Moon's section at least. Star didn't think she could keep her chocolate milk down if she was forced to see any more mental images of THAT.  
  
Star recalled turning the page for the chapter, leafing through the contents, and then... nothing. Nothing coherent, anyway. Just a vague, incomprehensible blur before waking up, pressed against Marco's bare body.  
  
Reaching the end of her memories Star found herself back in the present. After a few minutes of shared silence and pretending to look for new patterns in the ceiling, Star couldn't take it anymore. Deciding it was time to get some answers, she took a deep breath and braced herself. "Marco... why don't I remember anything?"  
  
Marco let out a deep sigh. Somehow he had hoped the question wouldn't come, but he knew it wouldn't be that easy. Reliving the experience in his memories was confusing enough, but having to say it out loud somehow threatened to turn it from a surreal dream into hard reality. While Marco didn't feel like he was scarred for life, the experience had certainly shaken him up, in more ways than one. The many hours he'd laid awake hadn't been nearly enough to get everything straight in his head. Just as importantly, he didn't know how Star would react. Could it affect her even more dramatically? What would it do to their blossoming relationship? And, while he had a fair guess as to why she didn't remember the previous night, he still had absolutely no idea what had lead to the events. Even so... she deserved to know what had happened. He began to explain, unable to even look her in the eye as he did. "Well... late last night-"  
  
Marco was cut off by a loud ringing coming from Star's dress, laying next to the bed. She leaned over, Marco turning his head away quickly just as the sheet slid off her. Star covered herself again as she pulled out her magic phone compact. The display flashed with the absolute last thing Star wanted to see at that moment. Marco rolled over, wincing in pain slightly as he turned toward the source of the sound. "Star?"  
  
"Marco." Star shuddered with fear as she held the device up where he could see it. "It's my mom."  
  
Both stared in terror at the arcane cell phone, as if doing so would somehow make it disappear. It rang one... two... three... four... five... six times, before finally falling silent after nearly half a minute. Star let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She hoped Moon would be content to leave a message... but no such luck. After a few seconds, the ringing began again. Silence was replaced with panic as Star scrambled to make herself presentable, grabbing her hairband from the floor, Marco staring back up at the ceiling to protect her modesty.  
  
"Marco, we haven't even told anybody we're dating yet!"  
"I know..."  
"We were waiting until your parents got back from vacation tomorrow..."  
"I KNOW!"  
"MY MOM IS GONNA KILL ME!"  
"I don't even wanna think about what she'll do to ME!"  
  
The device continued to demand Star's attention. She smoothed her hair as best she could to fix her disheveled bed head, carefully holding the compact so that it would show no lower than her face. Satisfied, she then tried to position herself in a way that didn't make it obvious that she was fully nude in Marco's bed. As the compact near the end of its second ring cycle, Star cleared her throat and pressed the answer button.  
  
Moon's face appeared in the screen. The queen looked slightly concerned, but no more than usual when it came to her daughter running off on another adventure. "Star? Star, where are you dear?"  
  
Star braced herself, trying to put on a poker face, nervously smiling and waving at her mother. "Ohhhhhhhhh, hey Mom! I'm just, you know, over at Marco's house! Aheheheheh..."  
  
Moon calmly raised an eyebrow, her voice taking on a chiding tone as she rotely recited what was possibly the single most common sentence out of her mouth since the princess was born. "Star, what did you do?"  
  
"Wha- nothing! I can't come over and have breakfast with my bo- best friend without a full blown interrogation?" Star was starting to worry now, sweat forming on her brow. She was absolutely certain Moon knew something, she just wasn't sure how much.  
  
"Hi Queen Moon!" Marco shouted from out of view of the compact.  
  
The voice eased the queen's concerns a bit. Although he couldn't see it from his angle, Moon waved politely to him, flashing a small smile before returning her attention to her daughter. "Oh, hello Marco. Star, I don't mind you visiting your friends, but how many times to I have to tell you to at least leave a note? Glossaryck said you weren't in your room when he woke up. We've been looking all over the castle for you!"  
  
Star did her best to look apologetic, hoping to end the lecture as soon as possible so she had time to figure out what to do next. "I know, I know. Sorry..."  
  
Moon sighed slightly, shaking her head in exasperation. It wasn't worth the fight. Star had definitely been up to something, but Marco would keep her from getting into TOO much trouble. "It's fine, Star. Just hurry back, it's almost time for your daily training. Today you'll be learning... oh, Star. You have something on your face dear." Moon pointed to the side of her cheek, indicating the location to her daughter.  
  
"Huh? Oh, thanks mom." Star scratched away the foreign object, pinching it between her fingers. A purple heart sticker. Star stared at it in confusion, unsure where it had come from. "Huh...?"  
  
Moon went deathly pale as she watched Star peel the sticker from her face, pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks. "Oh... oh no. Oh dear. Star..."  
  
Star knew she had seen the object before, but she didn't have time to make the connection. Her attention was consumed by the sound of something in Moon's voice that she hardly recognized. Her mother's default tone with her in these situations was disappointment, but this was different. This was... fear. Confused by the reaction, Star wasn't even sure how to respond. "Mom... Mom, whatever you're thinking-"  
  
"Star, don't. Don't even try. I know exactly what you did, and I won't allow it to happen again. I want you back home, right now. No arguments."  
  
Star froze as she processed the queen's words. It was clear to her from Moon's attitude that she knew, or at least had a very good idea. But was she really saying what Star thought she was saying? "Back home? You mean like, just for today right?" Her voice began to crack, gradually rising in volume. "If you're trying to tell me that Marco is only good enough for the 'Perfect Queen Moon's' daughter when he's just a friend..." Tears welled up in her eyes, nearly sobbing as her speech started to waver. "IF YOU'RE SAYING I CAN'T SEE HIM ANYMORE-"  
  
"Bring Marco with you." Moon responded abruptly, swiftly cutting off her daughter's growing anger.  
  
"Hubba-wha?" Star uttered, feeling her rage drain instantly, only to be replaced with confusion. She felt her blood pressure returning to normal after learning that she wouldn't lose Marco again, but... bring him with her?  
  
"I'll see you soon." Moon shut off her mirror, terminating the call.  
  
Star collapsed back onto Marco's bed. She squeezed her eyes shut so tight that she saw stars, pulling her body and most of her face back under the blankets. It was still awkward being fully naked next to Marco, but not nearly as awkward as the conversation she anticipated with the king and queen. Star sighed, shaking her head. Maybe her mom was asking the right question. What DID she do? "Come on Marco. I won't look, but we need to get dressed. We're going to see my parents."  
  
Marco had been anticipating the request after hearing the conversation, and he let out a quiet sigh. "I can't."  
  
Star pulled the covers tighter around her, taking brief refuge in her and Marco's shared warmth, trying to fight back the rising dread over their meeting with her father and mother. Especially her mother. "Marco, I don't want to go either, but if we don't I'm pretty sure this time my mom will ACTUALLY kill me."  
  
"No, I mean," Marco grunted with effort as he attempted to push himself up off the edge on the other side of the bed, just as Star glanced over to see his bare back covered in scratch marks, a few of which might have been bleeding recently. "I don't think I can actually walk."  
  
Star turned and buried her face in her pillow, muffling scream of frustration. Glossaryck was right. It was morning, and she regretted it.


	2. Sins of the Mothers

After Moon hung up the call, Star and Marco didn't even have time to discuss the events any further. They were dressed and on their feet in a matter of minutes. Having found his hoodie torn to shreds on his bedroom floor, Marco was glad he had a few extras. Star had hoped to get more of the story before going back to the castle, but when the queen said she wanted them back right now, Star knew she wasn't kidding. In any case, she knew they'd be discussing it shortly. She had conjured a cane for Marco to get him back on his feet, and while he was still unsteady, he could at least navigate on his own again.  
  
With a deep breath, Star cut a rift back to Mewni with her dimensional scissors, staring at the portal with trepidation along with her companion. "Ready Marco?"  
  
Marco stared into the portal, still not quite stable on his legs, fearing what fate might await him on the other side. " ... no."  
  
Star reached out and took Marco's free hand in her own, squeezing gently as she turned toward him, offering a small but warm smile. "Me neither."  
  
Marco felt his heart jump slightly as he smiled back, before both teens turned back toward the portal. Whatever they were about to face, they could face it together. Feeling as ready as they would ever be, they crossed the threshold as one. They found themselves just outside the entrance to the throne room of Butterfly Castle. As they entered, they hesitatingly allowed their hands to slip apart just as they came into view of the king and queen.  
  
As Star looked around, she found the room disconcertingly empty. All the usual scribes, courtiers, and attendants were absent. Star couldn't hear any of the usual bustle of the castle echoing into the main room through the halls. Even the guards had apparently been dismissed. If not for her parents occupying their thrones, she would swear the castle had been abandoned. Only Glossaryck accompanied the royal couple, floating quietly on the sidelines with the Book of Spells.  
  
The pair slowly climbed the stairs to approach the thrones. Their footsteps echoed through the empty room, a knife through the silence as River and Moon rose to stand and step forward. They looked down at the teens with a mix of fear and concern, yet surprisingly neither Star nor Marco sensed any anger or judgment. Even so they were both sweating bullets, wondering just how much Star's parents really knew about last night's events. River was fidgeting with his beard, and even the usually stoic Moon started to look uncomfortable, none of them daring to speak. The tension continued to rise until River finally broke the silence. "So... anyone read any good books lately?"  
  
"River!" Moon prodded her husband in the side wih her elbow. The king cleared his throat and became silent, stepping back to sit on his throne. Perhaps best to let his wife start this one off, he thought.  
  
After a slight sigh, it was Moon's turn to speak. She had thought she would have more time to prepare. Maybe even prevent the whole thing, somehow. It wasn't supposed to come out of nowhere like this. But it was too late. The spark had already lit. Nothing to do now but try to get the fire under control. The queen stepped toward Star, suddenly kneeling down and pulling her daughter into a tight hug that lasted for several seconds. Star was too surprised to return it, eyes slightly wide with shock as Moon stepped away, all pretense of her usual regal posture gone as she spoke to the pair with an unusual softness. "You're not in trouble."  
  
It was a rare phrase for Moon, and seemed to be directed toward both Star and Marco and she looked back and forth between them. It also told Star the situation was serious. Star would almost have been less worried if she WAS in trouble with her mother. That would be just another Saturday. But to not be in trouble for... this.  
  
Star nodded, almost sadly. She somehow felt like she should be in trouble. If not for reading the chapter against Glossaryck's advice, then for hurting her best friend. Her more than best friend. Even if she couldn't remember the events, it was clear to her that she was responsible for Marco's current worn and weathered state. She had started to put the pieces together, but she still had a number of questions. What had she really done? For once, Star didn't want to argue, but she was afraid her mother would assume the worst. "Mom... I don't-"  
  
Moon held up a hand to silence her daughter. "We'll explain everything. It may take some time. If we're going to be able to help you, I need both of you to be absolutely honest with me, no matter what. Do you understand?" Star and Marco turned toward each other, silently coming to an agreement together with only a brief look. The way Moon said it made the two fairly certain that they were at least all talking about the same thing. They faced back toward Moon, nodding in unison.  
  
Moon returned the nod, finally resuming her usual, businesslike demeanor. "Good. Then we'd better get started. Star... how much do you remember?"  
  
Having already done her best to organize her thoughts as she prepared for the trip, Star began with minimal hesitation. "Yesterday Glossaryck and I were training, and when I was looking through the book, I found Aphrodisia's chapter. I, uh... I think you already know about it."  
  
Moon hesitated, as if deciding whether or not to speak. After a moment she nodded slowly, gesturing for her daughter to continue.  
  
Star took a deep breath and went on. "Nothing happened right then, but I looked at it again after Glossaryck went to sleep. I just started reading it, and then... and then..." She shook her head as her memory of the events hit a wall. It seemed a few of the blanks had turned into blurs, but even with Marco's confirmation of what they had been up to, Star still couldn't grasp anything of substance from the previous night. "Nothing."  
  
Moon gave a small nod of understanding, then turned toward Star's partner. "And you, Marco?"  
  
Marco looked a little uncomfortable as the flashbacks returned, his expression appearing pained. "Everything."  
  
Moon and River exchanged a glance of understanding. Just as they had feared. River stepped down from his throne, placing his hands on Marco's shoulders and looking him straight in the eye, his expression full of compassion and concern. "And are you alright?"  
  
Marco was surprised to find that the question seemed to be directed specifically toward him. He shifted nervously back and forth on his feet for a few seconds, looking over to a concerned Star, then back to River, trying to find the words. He wanted to honor Moon's request for honesty, but what could he say? After everything he had been through, he wasn't even sure himself. "Y- yeah. I mean, I think so. Everything happened so fast, at least at first. Then I guess after a while I realized I couldn't do anything about it, and I just... stopped fighting." Marco looked at his feet, sighing softly. "But at least it's over now, right?"  
  
River wrapped one arm around Marco's shoulders in a fatherly gesture, shaking his head. "No, Marco... I'm afraid not."  
  
Star watched as Marco swallowed nervously, then looked back and forth between her parents. "Huh? Dad, what are you talking about? How do you know so much about this anyway?"  
  
River returned to Moon's side as they joined hands, sharing a brief gaze. Moon looked like she wanted to say something that she couldn't quite get out, as if the words were caught in her throat. River turned to look up at her, placing his other hand over hers as well, giving a small squeeze. "Darling..."  
  
Moon nodded to her husband, then turned back toward Star, taking a deep breath to compose herself before speaking. "When we were younger... the same thing happened to us."  
  
"Hubba-WHAAAAAAAAAAA?" Star's jaw dropped open wider than she ever thought possible. She could hardly believe the response. Her mother, Perfect Queen Moon, the most proper, straight laced, and restrained lady Star had ever know? She had read Aphrodisia's chapter and gotten horizontal with Dad? She gestured wildly, brain unable to keep up with her mouth as she attempted to process her mother's confession. "But, why, you- Mom... how could, if you're you, with the book-"  
  
Moon decided to stop her daughter before she could confuse herself any further, holding up a hand to her. "I know you have questions, Star. As I said, we'll do our best to answer, but first thing's first. River." She nodded her head toward the king.  
  
"Right. No time to waste." River placed a hand on Marco's shoulder, beginning to guide him down the stairs. "I need you to come with me, lad. We have a lot to talk about."  
  
"Huh? Where are we going? Is Star gonna be okay?" Marco turned back toward Star as River led him toward an exit, the grip on his shoulder steady but firm.  
  
River continued to guide Marco out of the room. He wasn't entirely happy about breaking them apart before they had a chance to talk, but under the circumstances, there was no choice. "Oh, she'll be fine. You're the one I'm concerned about." It wasn't entirely true. River WAS worried for Star as well as Marco, but he would have to leave that to his wife. "Step lively, now."  
  
While Marco didn't feel as though River was threatening him, he could also tell that it wasn't a request. "Oh, uh... okay. See you later Star." He waved back to his partner.  
  
"Marco!" Star reached out towards Marco as he walked away, taking a few steps toward him until Moon placed a hand on her shoulder. Star turned back toward her mother, who only shook her head sadly. If there was ever a time she needed him by her side, it was now, Star thought as she turned to watch him leave. "Where's Dad taking Marco?"  
  
Moon waited until Marco was out of sight, watching as he and Star gazed at each other longingly for most of the trip. After Marco and River left the throne room, Moon turned back to her daughter. "Don't worry, you'll see him again soon enough. For now, Marco needs rest. Treatment. Preparation, emotional and physical."  
  
"For what? Mom, what happened to me? What happened to Marco? What happens now?" Star couldn't handle much more mystery today. As much as she dreaded the conversation, she needed answers, and she was tired of waiting.  
  
"I'll take this one." Star had nearly forgotten Glossaryck was there until he finally spoke. She turned to the sound of his voice as her mother got uncomfortably close to him.  
  
Moon glared at Glossaryck, pointing a finger directly in his face. "Yes, you will. This is your fault, you know. Did I not tell you to inform me the SECOND Star found Aphrodisia's chapter?" It wasn't a question.  
  
"Do you honestly think it would have changed anything?" Glossaryck responded with a dismissive shrug.  
  
"She wasn't ready! Neither of them were!" Moon was nearly shouting now as she leaned in even closer to Glossaryck.  
  
"May I remind you, My Liege, that you weren't much older than Star when YOU found Aphrodisia's chapter." Glossaryck pointed a finger right back at the Queen.  
  
Star looked over at her mother. Moon had already admitted to finding it, but when she had said it happened when she was younger, Star had thought... well, older than 14, anyway. "What? Really?"  
  
Glossaryck grinned, unable to pass up the opportunity. "Ohhhhohoho yes. And the first words out of her mouth were asking if there was a spell to add a few extra inches to River's-"  
  
"HEIGHT!" Moon interjected, breaking out in a sudden sweat, her eyes darting from side to side. "I... preferred taller men back then. Star, you know I love your father, but he's, well... short."  
  
"Pfft." Glossaryck muttered and rolled his eyes at the deflection, resuming his usual meditative pose. "Short like a horse."  
  
"What was that?" Just as quickly as she had lost control, she composed herself again, fixing Glossaryck with an icy glare.  
  
"I'm just saying that even back then River wasn't exactly lacking in the 'height' department." Glossaryck made air quotes with his fingers to stress the point as he turned his head toward Star. "Your mother might have still been just a Mewman princess back then, but she was already another kind of queen... weren't you, Moon?"  
  
The queen's eyes narrowed dangerously at Glossaryck, leaning in inches from his face and hissing through gritted teeth. "And how would you know?"  
  
Glossaryck didn't back down. Instead he abandoned his meditation stance and began a pelvic thrusting motion, pumping his arms back and forth a few times for good measure. "Maybe if you'd remembered to put away your spellbook while River was 'raiding the cave'..."  
  
"STOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" Moon and Glossaryck looked toward the source of the scream to find Star curled up in a fetal position on the floor, body shaking violently, cringing at the increasing number of horrifying mental images that the conversation was forcing into her brain. "No more..."  
  
Moon frowned slightly, reaching out a comforting hand. As concerned as she was with the recent events in Star's love life, she didn't want her daughter to get the wrong idea. "Oh, Star, no. It's a very beautiful thing when shared between two people in love."  
  
Star rocked gently back and forth, groaning softly. "Not when those two people are your PARENTS!"  
  
Glosaryck smirked ever so slightly. "How do you think you got here, kid?"  
  
"Glossaryyyyyyyyyyyyyyck!" Star balled up tighter, trying to pull her hair over her ears for protection.  
  
"Glossaryck." The hot anger had left Moon's voice, replaced with a low, steely tone that carried just a hint of a threat.  
  
He could tell that the queen had finally had enough. While no being in the multiverse was above being subjected to his unique brand of torment, even Glossaryck was wary of pushing Moon too far. He rubbed his temples for a few moments before speaking. "Look... the POINT is. I'll handle the magic, but the emotional consequences are up to you. That's outside my expertise, and above my pay grade."  
  
Moon raised one eyebrow slightly. "We don't pay you, Glossaryck."  
  
"Exactly." Magic was easy. Emotion was hard. Why did the two have to be so tightly bound when dealing with mortals? "Which is why I'll be sticking to what I'm good at."  
  
Moon softened slightly, apparently satisfied with the response. "So, you'll teach her like you taught me?"  
  
"Like I taught you? Oh yes, I remember. The meditation, the fasting, the grueling discipline. Of course I can teach Star all that. But, ah..." Glossaryck gestured toward another part of the room.  
  
Moon followed the path of his finger to see her daughter chasing after a stray butterfly that had floated into the throne room, hovering just out of her reach. "Hey, come baaaaaaaaaack! We're practically sisters!"  
  
Moon turned back to Glossaryck, looking a bit sheepish. "Oh... right. Well, you have a plan, don't you?"  
  
"Your Majesty." Glossaryck sighed as he tried one last time to persuade Queen Moon to change her mind, even knowing it was a futile effort. "I already told you what needs to be done."  
  
Moon stomped a foot on the ground, shouting at Glossayrck. "And I forbid it! It's absolute lunacy!" Moon took a deep breath to calm herself, pausing to collect her thoughts. "I can't even believe you proposed it. For both their sakes, we have to find a real answer."  
  
Glossaryck didn't even budge, maintaining his expression of barely supressed condescension. Though he respected Moon more than any queen in many generations, Glossaryck had always resented being told how to conduct his business. However, because it was about more than just magic, he was willing to bend just this once. He knew Moon doubted his judgment in the emotional aspects of the case. It was true that his emotions, such as they were, would be considered extremely alien by mortals. However, he also had countless years of experience training Mewman queens, and had already seen everything there was to see. Expect, perhaps, for Star. "For both their sakes, you should let me do my job." Glossaryck gave an exaggerated, resentful sigh. "Buuuuuuuuuut if you insist that you know better, I can try something else. Just remember, My Queen. You asked for it."  
  
"Duly noted." In this case, Moon DID insist that she knew better. Glossaryck knew everything there was to know about magic, to be sure, but he didn't know nearly so much about volatile teenage hormones. Moon knew only too well. They couldn't just sit back and do nothing. One way or another, Star would have to learn self-control. "Star."  
  
Moon commanded her now nearby daughter to break her from her distracted chase, tearing Star away just as she was about to catch her winged quarry. "Aww." Star frowned, but turned her full attention to the queen. "Yeah Mom?"  
  
"Star, we need to discuss a few things before Glossaryck takes you to prepare yourself as well." Moon took a seat on her throne, motioning for Star to take River's. Moon needed to gauge more of the situation before making her next move. "Other than last night, have you and Marco been, well..." Moon cleared her throat, attempting to phrase the question delicately. "... getting to know each other better?"  
  
"Nnnnnnnnnnn-" Star REALLY didn't want to have this conversation with her mother right now, but quickly thought better of lying. She and Marco had promised after all. Absolutely honest, no matter what. "-nnnnnnnyyyyyyes. A- a little. I mean, not THAT much better." Star's cheeks heart glowed softly as she shifted back and forth in her seat, fidgeting with her fingers. She hoped her mother wouldn't get the wrong idea, and she hoped even harder that she wouldn't have to go into the details. She watched as Moon reacted with stone silence, an unfamiliar look of sadness on her face. As her mother remained nearly motionless, Star wondered if she had really done the right thing by admitting it. "Uhm... now am I in trouble?"  
  
Moon wasn't mad, or even disappointed. Only hurt. "Dear. I have no objection to the two of you deepening your relationship, but why didn't you feel you could tell me?"  
  
Star started to protest. She really hadn't intended to keep it a secret, but maybe she had put off the conversation longer than she should have. "We were gonna tell you! We were just trying to find the right time say something. But then all this happened, and... and... we didn't think you'd understand."  
  
Upon hearing Star's defense, Moon... laughed. Not much, only a small chuckle, but it was enough to unsettle Star for a moment. She couldn't remember the last time she heard her mother laugh. "And do you still think that?"  
  
Since the day had started, Moon seemed to already know exactly what she and Marco were thinking, maybe even before they did. Maybe just this once her mother really did understand. Well, today was proving to be full of surprises. She shook her head at the queen. She hadn't been sure if she could really open up before, but as difficult as it might be, she finally felt prepared to get down to business. She had already put some of the puzzle together, but she needed Glossaryck and her mother to fill in the rest. "So... what really happened? Reading that chapter did something to my head, didn't it?"  
  
Moon turned and gestured to Glossaryck, who scratched his chin for a moment, looking for a way to phrase it that Star would understand. With Star's attention span, Glossaryck often tried to teach her without her actually realizing it, but in this case he felt it would be better to get right to the point. "Hmm. Not just your head. More like all of you. Body, mind, and soul. The short version is, reading Aphrodisia's chapter has the potential to awaken a variation of your Mewberty form."  
  
"The heart sticker on my face before..." Star brought a hand to her cheek, scratching where the mark had been before she had peeled it away.  
  
"In this case, more of a side effect. Mewberty hearts and cocoons degrade quickly. They aren't made for long term storage in the first place, since the transformation doesn't last very long. Especially this transformation." Glossaryck shrugged slightly. "I mean, it's not like you were saving him for later."  
  
Star cringed as another piece fell into place in her mind. She knew the basics of what had happened from what little Marco had time to tell her, but from the look on his face when she woke up, she was extremely sure she hadn't been holding back. "I didn't forget what happened during Mewberty though. It still feels a little like one of those dreams where it isn't really you doing things, but I remember what was going on."  
  
"There are a few differences from the usual Mewberty process. First of all, just in case you didn't think it was bad enough the first time around, the emotional surge is FAR more intense. Even to the point of inducing a sort of trance-like state." Glossaryck's eyes became hypnotic swirls for a moment before returning to normal. "Oh, and generally speaking, it only comes with one target, namely whoever the object of your affections happens to be at the time. Princesses who don't have one of those don't typically have much use for Aphrodisia's chapter. Once the target is found, well, the Mewberty form does what it does best. Aggressively and repeatedly."  
  
Star shuddered at the thought. Not of being intimate with Marco, which she had been looking forward to doing someday, but of violating him like that. She briefly considered asking exactly what she had done to Marco in that state, but at this point, she had a pretty good idea. It was the why of it that had been a mystery. "Okay... so how did I end up like that just from reading the chapter?"  
  
For once, Glossaryck had a simple point of reference available. He gestured toward the book, telekenetically flipping it open toward a toward a certain sealed section. "Do you remember what happened when Marco read Eclipsa's chapter?"  
  
Star nodded. She recalled when Marco had read the chapter and been taken over by it, filled with the power of Eclipsa's dark magic. Fortunately Glossaryck had showed her how to fix the problem with no permanent damage done, but it was still quite a shock at the time. "Yeah, I remember. Nothing happened to me when I read it though."  
  
Glossaryck set the book aside, holding his hands up to Star. "Everyone has their own temptations, including you and Marco. Eclipsa tempts with power... " Glossaryck clenched his right hand into a fist. "... but Aphrodisia tempts with pleasure." He slid his fist half open and stuck his left index finger through the hole. "And last night wasn't the last temptation, if you know what I mean."  
  
"You mean I'll transform again." It wasn't really a question. By this point, Star had realized what Moon was trying to prevent.  
  
"Unless we take steps stop it, yes. The burn will return." Glossaryck snapped his fingers and conjured a small but growing flame in his hands for a few seconds before snuffing it out.  
  
Star growled in frustration, rising from River's throne. "Grrrrrrrrrraah! It wasn't supposed to be like this! Marco and I... we talked about it, and we both said... we both said we weren't ready. Not for that." It was true that she had wanted something more from Marco, but this definitely wasn't it. "I didn't mean to hurt him..." Tears began welling up in her eyes as she thought of Marco recoiling in pain at her touch. "And I might hurt him again."  
  
If nothing else good came of all this, Moon was rather impressed that they had agreed to wait. She wondered if it was mostly Marco who had encouraged patience, but at the very least, Star had kept her emotions in check up until reading the chapter. That was a good sign.  
  
"And on top of all that, we were... it was our first..." Star yanked at her hair until she felt like it would tear out. "UGGGGGGHHHH! And I can't even remember it!"  
  
Moon hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly nodded toward Glossaryck. Glossaryck returned the nod. It would be better for Star to know everything. At least Moon was willing to listen to that much. "In every case I've ever seen, the memories have come back sooner or later after the last cycle."  
  
"Still, best not to think about it right now, dear." Images of her experience with River after reading the chapter, and the unquenchable thirst she experienced afterward, came to Moon's mind before she forced them back down. "That just makes it worse."  
  
Maybe Moon was right. Star wasn't sure if she wanted to remember. Even if it was their first time, what kind of memory would that be, forcing herself on a confused and terrified Marco? Star was nearing her limit, anger at herself and hurt over Marco churning into a violent storm of emotion inside her. She was terrified to ask what was on her mind as a single tear rolled down her cheek.  "Di- did he..." She sniffled as she choked out the words. "Did Dad ever forgive you?"  
  
"Well, yes, of course he did. We're still..." The answer had seemed obvious until Moon realized what laid behind the question, her expression shifting to compassion. "Oh. Oh, Star. Even when he was leaving with your father, all he could think about was you. He's a strong boy with a good heart. He still likes you enough to hold your hand, doesn't he?"  
  
Star blushed slightly, smiling nervously and clearing her throat. Even if she and her mother were having an open conversation, getting caught in the act by her parents was different. Even if it was a small thing, it was still a little embarrassing. "You, uh... you guys saw that, huh?"  
  
Moon smiled back warmly. It was sweet how the pair had waited until the last second to part, but they weren't quite quick enough. She reached down to wipe away the lone tear from one of her daughter's glowing cheeks. "You were together before, and you'll be together again."  
  
Glossaryck rolled his eyes at Moon's willful blindness. Together indeed. "Sorry to interrupt this touching moment, but we have a more immediate issue. The clock is ticking. If we can't stop this here and now, you might reunite with Marco sooner than you think."  
  
"Wh- what? Is that really why Dad took Marco? To keep him safe from... from me?" Just as she was starting to feel better about the situation, the very idea of Marco needing to be protected from her nearly caused Star to complete her breakdown.  
  
"That's part of the reason, yes. And as I said, to prepare him for the next cycle when... if it happens." Glossaryck saw that Star was getting close to her breaking point, and knew he needed to get her mind on something else as he fixed her with a determined gaze. "If you want to stop it, we have to start now. It may not be the hardest thing you've ever done, but it'll be close. Are you prepared to do whatever it takes?"  
  
Star dried her eyes, steeling herself and clenching a fist so hard her nails nearly drew blood. She wouldn't hurt Marco again, no matter what. She would protect him from anything, even herself. She nodded to Glossaryck. "Let's go."  
  
Moon looked relieved as she saw her daughter's determination to conquer her demons. She just might have a chance at succeeding. "Well then Glossaryck, it's up to you now."  
  
"She's in good hands, Your Majesty." Glossaryck bowed respectfully toward Moon, then turned back to Star. "Alright Star, let's head to your room. We have lot of work to do and not much time."  
  
Star turned from Moon and marched toward her room. No matter what happened, she was ready to do anything. She whispered to herself under her breath. "For Marco."


	3. Testing the Waters

When the pair reached Star's room, she and Glossaryck sat in uncomfortable silence for several moments. Well, it was uncomfortable for Star, kneeling on her bed and waiting for direction from Glossaryck. He floated atop the book of spells, simply staring at Star, expressionless and impossible to read as usual.  
  
Star squirmed nervously on her bed, unsure what Glossaryck expected. She had hoped he would break the silence, but he seemed content to leave her with her thoughts. After a minute or so being stared down, Star couldn't take any more, and decided to give Glossaryck a push. "So... how long do we have?"  
  
Glossaryck instantly snapped to attention and scratched his beard, mulling over the question. "Oh, you're ready? Well, hm. I'd give it a day or two until the next cycle. Maybe less."  
  
A day or two? Star wasn't exactly sure what she was in for, but she had her concerns that they wouldn't be able to handle it on such a tight schedule. "Is that enough time for... whatever we're doing?"  
  
Glossaryck looked Star up and down, seemingly evaluating her in some way. After a moment, he gave a shrug. "Probably not. I'll do my best to help you, but you guessed it, this may not work right away. Shaking the effects of Aphrodisia's chapter isn't easy. It will go away on its own, eventually, but if we can break the cycle sooner we'll be able to put a stop to it. You've been through one cycle already, and one is typical. Your mother's magic was strong enough that she went through two, but she was disciplined enough to get things under control after that. You, though... more wouldn't surprise me."  
  
Star swallowed hard, her mind flashing back to Marco's scratches and bruises, not to mention his state of mind. She couldn't stand the thought of continuing to hurt him. If just one encounter had left him in that condition, she worried about what would happen if her own condition continued. "More? How many more?"  
  
Glossaryck tapped a finger against his chin. "Well, the problem in your case is, powerful magic will work against you. It's just more fuel for the fire. That, and your, uh..." Wild, reckless emotions? Complete lack of self control? "... powerful zest for life means you've got the worst of both worlds. It's hard to put an exact number to it this early, but... let's just say that if you want your boy toy to be able to walk straight anytime soon, we'd better start now."  
  
Star nodded slowly, feeling as ready as she would ever be. "What do I have to do?"  
  
Glossaryck closed his eyes and thought silently for a few seconds. "For starters, I want you to think of a time when you felt especially close to Marco. What's the first thing that comes to mind?"  
  
Star closed her eyes as well and dove into her memories. "Close to Marco...." That was a tough one. They'd had so many good times together, especially since they started dating. However, one recent event stood out in her mind.  
  
Glossaryck watched as a smile started to stretch across Star's face. "Found one, did you? Tell me everything." Glossaryck settled into his listening pose, laying face down near the edge of the book, propping his chin up in his hands. "And I do mean everything."  
  
"Wellllll, it's kinda... you know." Star's cheek hearts glowed as she giggled quietly at the pleasant memory.  
  
Glossaryck grinned wide as he sensed weakness, now kicking his feet slowly behind him. "Why Star, I didn't realize you two had gotten so serious. Let me guess... mood lights, smooth jazz, scented candles, silk sheets... a night of lust and passion for the ages." The blood was gradually rising in Star's cheeks as Glossaryck carried on. She opened her eyes and her mouth to object, but Glossaryck pushed on before she could say anything. Even on the job, he couldn't help himself. "You and Marco covered in a sheen of sweat as your bodies entwined, writhing in ecstasy and aching for release-"  
  
"GLOSSARYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYCK!" Star could feel her pulse racing like an entire Warnicorn stampede, her whole face on fire as she tried to force the thoughts out of her head. She wasn't sure if Glossaryck was trying to help her or give her a heart attack. "We didn't... I mean... it wasn't THAT serious."  
  
Glossaryck dropped his tone, just for a moment, and gave Star an unusually serious look. "Even if it was, don't worry about it. Whatever happened, believe me, I've heard worse." It wasn't quite true, since once in a while a princess managed to shock him. Still, if even that little ribbing had been enough to embarrass her, he didn't think today would be one of those days. "C'mon girlfriend, kiss and tell."  
  
Star let out a heavy sigh. Even if she was willing to talk, she felt like she would be betraying Marco's trust. On the other hand, considering what they'd just been caught doing, even if by accident... if it really meant keeping him safe, he would understand under the circumstances. "Fine. But you can never, EVER tell ANYONE about this. ESPECIALLY my mom." The room seemed to darken around them as Star leaned in inches from Glossaryck's face, gritting her teeth and holding up a single pinky to seal their oath. "Or I will actually kill you."  
  
Glossaryck give Star a small smirk. It had been quite a few generations since a Butterfly had tried. In a way, he would have liked to see the attempt. He was legitimately curious to see what someone like Star might come up with. Still, if anyone would actually be able to pull it off, he thought it would probably be her. Maybe now wasn't the best time to test it. Besides, in this case he was willing to keep a secret. Glossaryck linked his pinky into Star's, giving a solid shake. "Deal. Now dish."  
  
"Okay." Star took a deep breath and closed her eyes once again, organizing her thoughts as best she could before she began. "A few days ago, I was over at Marco's house..."  
  
  
  
Star and Marco were coming to the end of another Friendship Thursday. With his parents still on vacation for a few more days, they had decided to move their activities to the comfort of his bedroom. The single bed had started as a bit of a tight squeeze, but Star had recently learned an object enlargement spell to make it more comfortable for the couple. Marco had decided it was a perfect time to show Star her first Mackie Hand movie. It was a hard choice, but he had finally settled on the prequel to Hand to Hand to Hand, Hand to Hand to Hand 3: Hand to Hand Too. They were really better in chronological order rather than release order, Marco thought. On the cool, rainy summer night, the pair had spent a cozy evening snuggled under the covers, fingers laced together while they watched the movie, sharing a heaping helping of Marco's Super Awesome Nachos. As the credits finally began to roll and the two left the warm protection of Marco's covers, Star excused herself to the bathroom.  
  
A few minutes later, Marco was relaxing on his bed and nearing the last of their nachos as he heard a singsongy voice from the hall. "Oh Marrrrrrrcoooooo~!"  
  
He turned to look at the doorway only to find an outstretched hand holding Star's dress, which dropped to the floor in the middle of the threshold.  
  
"Hubba-wha." Marco squeaked quietly. For a split second, Marco considered pinching himself. He had to be dreaming. He wasn't sure if he was ready for what he thought Star was proposing. Sure, things had gotten a little more intense since they started dating, but Marco felt like this would be skipping quite a few steps. Was Star really...  
  
Before he could finish the thought, Star's body slowly slid into the doorway... clad in Marco's hoodie and a pair of his skinny jeans. "Check it out! I found them in the laundry! How do I look in a hoodie?" Star struck a pose for Marco, planting her hands on her hips and puffing out her lips, doing her best imitation of a fashion model.  
  
Marco turned his face away from Star and let out a massive sigh of relief as quietly he could, which was quickly followed by a rush of embarrassment. Glossaryck's sense of humor must have been rubbing off on her. He knew he'd been duped, but tried not to show it. As he turned back, he put on his best poker face, shrugging as he popped one of the two remaining nachos into his mouth. "Eh. Not as good as I look in a dress."  
  
Star stuck her tongue out at Marco before she returned to join him on his bed. "You're just jealous 'cause I rock your skinny jeans harder than you." Star jumped onto the bed, bouncing next to Marco and laying down beside him as she took and ate the last nacho from their shared plate, moving it out of the way and onto the nightstand. "Mmh, and the best part is, it's all still warm from the dryer!" She snuggled into Marco, wrapping her arms around him and pressing the sleeves to his face.  
  
Marco laughed as Star pressed into his body, the slightly fuzzy sleeves of his hoodie tickling his face as Star attempted to share the warmth. "H- hey, knock it off! Come on, give that back, I only have 12 of them!" Marco tugged playfully at the hoodie, which only served to pull Star tighter against him.  
  
Star pulled away, pouting at Marco. "Oh yeah?" She jumped off the bed, unzipping the red garment and pulling it off her body to reveal one of Marco's summer tank tops underneath. "If you want it so bad, TAKE IT!" Star threw the hoodie directly at Marco, where it clung loosely to his face.  
  
"Star, what the heck-" By the time Marco pulled the hoodie away from his eyes, it was already too late. Star was in full sprint, charging at him from across the room. Even as he was trying to dodge out of the way, she had already started to pounce, soaring through the air and landing on top of him.  
  
Soon the two were a tangle of limbs, wrestling on his bed, fighting for dominance. Marco's karate training gave him relatively little preparation for a grapple, and already being at a disadvantage in positioning, he was no match for his opponent's raw Johansen strength. Star quickly wrestled Marco down, pinning his shoulders and legs against the bed. Marco tried to squirm free, but it was no use. The more he struggled, the harder Star pushed her weight down on him. After a brief attempt to escape, he started to relax a little, accepting his fate.  
  
Star gave Marco a faux predatory grin, some of her hair falling down onto his face as she shifted, securing her position further as he finally stilled. "I win."  
  
"Oh, a sneak attack, huh?" Marco puckered his lips slightly and attempted to blow her hair away from his face, then gave her a small smirk right back. "Cheater."  
  
Marco knew he was stuck there as long as Star wanted him to be. She was right, he had lost the fight. Not that he was actually complaining. As she rested on top of him, both teens could feel an increasingly familiar tension rising as they began to stare deeply into each other's eyes. After a few seconds locked together, Star's gaze darted away from Marco. She was starting to regret putting herself in this position, but was unable to bring herself to let go. She felt like a laser puppy chasing a car, except that she had somehow caught it, and now had absolutely no idea what to do with it.  
  
Marco was at a loss as well until he realized that being pinned by his shoulders rather than his wrists had left him a bit of slack. He slowly raised his hands, resting them on Star's hips. Ever so gently, Marco slid his hands up underneath the tank top, the couple's wide eyes finding each other again as he felt her smooth skin under his fingers.  
  
"Marco... ?" Star could feel her pulse start to throb, her cheek hearts glowing brighter and brighter with every inch Marco's hands traveled up her waist and to her sides, the fabric of the tank top gradually rising up her body.  
  
Marco's hands continued their journey over Star's bare flesh, eventually coming to rest at her sides, just barely below her chest. "Star... there's, uh, there's something I've been meaning to ask you for a while now." Marco leaned his head up as far as he could, until Star could feel his warm breath against her. "It's, uhm... it's kinda personal, but it's really important to me. Star. Are you..."  
  
Star's own breathing was getting heavier with every passing second. "Y- yes, Marco?" It wasn't the first time things had gotten a little heated between them, but Marco's hands were starting to explore uncharted territory. As Star inched her face ever closer to his, her imagination began to run wild with possibilities.  
  
"Ticklish?" Before Star could even process the last word, Marco grazed the tips of his fingers across Star's ribs with a smile. With barely any time to react, Star bit down hard on her lip, stifling a rising giggle, trying to pretend she wasn't affected. Marco knew her too well, and he wasn't buying it. Within seconds he could already see her starting to crack, and with a growing smirk, he continued his assault. His wandering fingers worked their way slowly back down toward her hips, seeking out the most sensitive spot he could find as he gauged her reactions.  
  
As Star's smile grew, so did Marco's. A snort broke through her poor attempt at a poker face. Then a giggle. Then laughter poured out like water breaking through a dam. As Marco kept up the pressure, Star soon reached her limit, her entire body starting to shake. "Marco, cut it out! I- I can't breathe!"  
  
As Marco felt Star's grip slipping, he seized his opportunity. He jerked to the side, slipping out of her grasp. As soon as he was clear, he wrapped an arm around her body, placing a palm on her upper back. Marco pushed Star face-down as he hooked a leg over her to straddle her hips, then put a firm grip on her shoulders.  
  
Finally free from the tickling attacks, Star's laughter began to die down. She wiped a tear from her eye, grateful for the chance to catch her breath. Star realized she could probably escape if she really wanted to, but she didn't find herself in any particular hurry.  
  
Marco learned over closer to Star's ear, feeling the need to gloat after pulling off such a reversal. "So, the mighty Star Butterfly DOES have a weakness."  
  
"Uh-huh. Now who's the cheater?" Had her face not been turned away from him, Marco would have seen a lingering smile, but he hardly needed to. He could practically hear it in her voice. Star propped herself up on her elbows, easily lifting Marco's weight even as he pushed against her. He knew he wouldn't stand a chance if his opponent put in any real effort, but Star seemed content to let him win for now.  
  
"You started it." As Marco shifted his position, he realized a strap of Star's borrowed tank top had slipped in the tussle. He was surprised to find that Star's warrior training had giving her a fair amount of physical definition. He was even more surprised at how much it appealed to him.  
  
In a move that felt more like an instinct that a conscious action, Marco reached out and began to rub her bare shoulder. He wasn't exactly trained in massage technique, but he'd observed it a few times in karate class watching students recover from their fights, and he felt like he was on the right track. Star moaned softly, wiggling her body slightly underneath him, which Marco took as implicit approval. His free hand found its way to Star's other shoulder, and he began pressing into them both at once. "Wow, Star... Your muscles feel so tight."  
  
While it wasn't a bad effort, Star could tell Marco didn't really know how to give a proper massage. She was royalty after all, and she'd been spoiled in a few ways, including a few professional hot oil massages from some extremely... qualified men. And still none of them drove her up the wall like Marco's awkward, clumsy rubbing. They may not have been the most skilled hands, but they were Marco's hands. "Mmmmmmmhhh... I've been training pretty hard lately. Mostly combat training." Star sighed happily, taking her elbows out from under her and settling into Marco's bed. "This is the first chance I've had to relax like this all week."  
  
Marco shifted his position, trying to find a more comfortable angle to relieve Star's tense muscles, now straddling dangerously close to her bottom. Star didn't protest. "Combat training? Is that how you got so good at wrestling?"  
  
Star pulled Marco's pillow closer, pulling her hair to the side and out of Marco's way. She turned her head to the side to make herself more comfortable, and folded her arms underneath the pillow. "Aaaahhh... sort of. When I'm here on earth, I really like watching those wrestlers on TV, too. Lower please."  
  
Marco indulged Star's request, working his hands gradually down her body. She let out a slightly stronger moan, and something twitched underneath the tank top. Marco jerked back out of reflex, a few long seconds passing before it clicked in his brain.  
  
Her wings. He saw them so rarely that he'd almost forgotten about them. Marco had gotten a brief look at the strange butterfly-like wings when she first got them after Mewberty, but he'd never really had a chance to examine them in detail.  
  
Star shifted underneath Marco, wondering why he had stopped. "Everything okay up there?"  
  
Marco opened his mouth to respond, but found himself at a loss for words. He gave her the only answer that seemed appropriate. With trembling hands, he started to pull the tank top further up Star's body. Star's face caught fire as she realized what was happening. She squirmed nervously, but didn't object, even as her heart quickened until it threatened to pound right out of her chest. Marco slid the garment up Star as far as he could, but found it caught between her and the bed, unable to stretch it over her wings. Just as he was about to pull away, unsure how to proceed, Star lifted herself up slightly. She looked back at Marco, a shy yet sultry smile adorning her face. It took Marco a moment to get the hint, but he soon continued to tug at her top. No longer being trapped underneath Star, it was soon over her wings and scrunched up just above her shoulder blades. If Marco had been able to think clearly, he would have realized that the tank top had risen enough to leave Star's bare chest pressed against his bedsheets. But as he scooted back further over Star's body, something else had his full attention.  
  
Marco leaned in to get a closer look at Star's wings. In one of his recent visits to Mewni, Marco had learned that even though wings were hardly considered indecent among Mewmans, they were still something rarely displayed publicly. Marco found himself strangely drawn to Star's. They were wonderfully exotic. Beautiful, even. The thought crossed his mind that he might be the only human to have ever seen Mewman wings up close. Marco was no expert, but they didn't look like the wings of any earth butterfly he'd ever seen. They were thin to the point of being translucent, yet somehow appeared stiff and rigid, almost like a flexed muscle. Carefully, he reached out and rested the tip of his finger along the edge, slowly dragging it across.  
  
Star's whole body jerked as she audibly sucked in a breath. The new sensation spreading through her wings and into her entire body walked a razor thin line between sensual and sexual. She fluttered reflexively, wings unfolding in front of Marco.  
  
Marco paused, concerned by the reaction, wondering if he might have even hurt her. "Everything okay down there?"  
  
Star settled her head back into Marco's pillow with a happy, quivering sigh. "Soooooooooooooo much better than okay."  
  
Marco let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Relieved that Star was actually enjoying the attention to her wings, his fingers began to cautiously explore their surface. They hadn't looked like butterfly wings, and they felt even less like them. The texture was almost like silk. As thin as the material was, they didn't feel at all fragile. He had no desire to be rough with them, or with her, but they seemed surprisingly resilient given their appearance.  
  
Star was doing her best to relax and just enjoy Marco's touch, even as his careful attention to her sensitive wings was sending shivers through her entire being. As Marco's hands continued to wander, Star felt like her whole body was beginning to melt, breathing becoming no more than ragged, uneven gasps. She wasn't sure how much longer the feelings would remain in the realm of merely sensual.  
  
If Star was nearing physical overload, Marco was getting close mentally. With Star's happy squeaks, her bare, smooth skin, her increasing squirming against him, it was all becoming a little too much. It wasn't exactly the first time Star had gotten him aroused. Still, it was the first time it had happened when he hadn't been in a position to hide it. He was fairly sure that wouldn't be an option tonight. As he continued his work, he realized that he was now straddled over Star in a position that left him pressing directly against her butt. "Uhm.. s- sorry."  
  
Star turned her head slightly and raised an eyebrow, curious. "For what? That feels..." As Star shifted further to look back at Marco, she brushed up against something that felt unfamiliar, and suddenly realized what he was apologizing for. "... oh." Star turned as far toward Marco as she could without baring her chest, smiling nervously, a small blush adorning her features. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about! I- it just means you like what we're doing... right?"  
  
Well, that was one way of putting it. Marco felt more conflicted than he ever had in his life. He'd never been more attracted to Star than he was at the moment, but his nerves were starting to get the better of him. "Star, uhm, do you think we should maybe call it a night?" He very much hoped they could continue soon, but right now, it was just too much at once.  
  
Star turned away from Marco, laying her head back down on his pillow. She sighed softly with disappointment, but decided he might have a point. "Heh... y- yeah, maybe we should. It's getting kinda late. My mom might start getting worried pretty soon."  
  
Marco swung his leg back over Star, laying down beside her and taking a few deep breaths to lower his pulse. A part of him regretted stopping where he did, but he didn't want to rush into anything they'd regret even more.  
  
As much as Star wanted to continue as well, she understood, and she didn't want to ruin what had still been a wonderful evening. As her heart gradually slowed to its normal pace, she mentally conceded they had probably pushed the envelope enough for one night.  
  
She leaned over the edge of the bed, grabbing the hoodie that she had tossed at Marco earlier, wrapping it around her body and zipping it to cover herself. Star took Marco's hands in hers, pulling him up with her before stepping back. As Marco watched her curiously, Star rocked back and forth on her heels, clasping her hands behind her back. She stared at Marco with a small smile and a half lidded gaze, suddenly leaning in to press her lips against his for a few seconds. Marco happily returned the gesture, following her lips with his own as far as he could lean as she pulled away. Star took her dimensional scissors from where she had left them on Marco's nightstand, opening a portal back to her room on Mewni. "Catch you later, Safe Kid."  
  
Marco waved to Star as she began to step back toward the portal, a satisfied grin on his face. "Goodnight, Princess."  
  
Star waved goodbye as she passed through the portal. With a happy sigh, she collapsed onto her own bed, head still swimming, riding the rush of hormones. She smiled wide, replaying the night's events in her mind until a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.  
  
  
  
"Star? Oh Starrrrrrrr... STAR!" Glossaryck waved a hand in front of her face as Star chewed her wand, the glow of her cheek hearts low but steady. "See, Star? Was it really so hard?"  
  
Star blushed lightly, biting at her lip. "Darn right it was..." Star jerked her wand away and clapped a hand over her mouth as she realized she'd said that out loud.  
  
For a split second, Glossaryck looked genuinely surprised, before resuming his usual bored expression with a shake of his head. "... I am not even touching that."  
  
Star shook her head back and forth rapidly in return, hoping Glossaryck wouldn't get the wrong idea. She really HAD told him the extent of their activities that night. "Wha- Neither did I! Well, not on purpose... Marco just got excited! I mean, after what he did with my wings, he wasn't the only-"  
  
"Y- yeah, I'm... I'm gonna have to stop you right there, before you dig that hole any deeper." Glossaryck cringed slightly, mostly out of sympathy. Star raised a finger and started to speak again, but was cut off by Glossaryck clapping his hands over his ears. "LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LAAAAAAAAA!" Star closed her mouth again, nodding. Really, it had been fairly tame compared to some of the things Glossaryck had heard over the years, but he certainly didn't feel the need to hear any more. After watching Star for a few seconds to make sure she wasn't going to incriminate herself further, he removed his hands from his ears. "Look, we've got plenty to work with already. Though I guess that at least explains why you were wearing his clothes when you came back late that night." At the time, Glossaryck had been mildly curious, but it was far from the strangest thing he'd ever caught Star doing. Plus he didn't really consider it any of his business, unless it was related to her magical education, or something he could use to torment her. He hadn't yet decided whether this would be fair game for private torture.  
  
Star couldn't even remember what hasty excuse she'd given Glossaryck when she came back to her room in Marco's hoodie and skinny jeans, but he hadn't seemed particularly interested in challenging her on it. "Ahahahah... yyyyyyyeah. After everything that happened, I kiiiiiiiinda forgot to change back into my dress. I actually still need to trade Marco his hoodie back. We, uh, probably shouldn't tell Mom about that either."  
  
Glossaryck smirked, then nodded. "Trust me Star, this is not a conversation that I will EVER have with your mother." With the story over, Glossaryck decided it was time to get to the point. "But you need to focus. The dress isn't going anywhere. We're on the right track, so let's try again. Don't worry so much about the events... just the emotions. Remember how it made you feel."  
  
Star remembered exactly how it made her feel. As wonderful as it was, it wasn't enough. She was absolutely certain that neither she nor Marco was ready to go all the way, but still... the evening didn't really have to end so soon, did it? Star would have been happy to spend the whole night exploring a new world with Marco. "More. I wanted more."  
  
Glossaryck stroked his chin as he watched Star caught up in her thoughts. She was so close, yet looking in the wrong direction. "Don't think about what you wanted, just think about what you had. How you felt in that moment, with Marco."  
  
Star concentrated as she tried to recapture more of her state of mind. She had felt... warm. Safe. Even loved. "It was like..." Star was having a hard time finding the words. It was more intimacy than she'd ever experienced before, physically or emotionally. "Like we belonged together. Like we belonged to each other."  
  
Glossaryck gave Star an unusually genuine smile. Even though he didn't have any use for those kinds of emotions himself, he was pleased that his student was learning. "Good. Now... hold on to that feeling. That's your anchor. If you feel yourself starting to lose control, remember it. Let it fill your thoughts. Try it."  
  
Star closed her eyes and fought her way through the swirl of emotions she had experienced that night. She knew that was beginning to feel things toward Marco that she never had toward another person. That collection of feelings had been growing slowly, since long before she had admitted it to anyone, even herself. Now that they were really together, she felt like something new was beginning to blossom. She'd felt attraction toward other boys before, but the more she'd thought about it in recent weeks, the more she realized this was a completely different experience. Star did WANT Marco, desperately, but there was something much more than that. Despite the growing strength of her more carnal desires, she still enjoyed the simple closeness of spending time with Marco, maybe now more than ever. She thought she might now understand where Glossaryck had been trying to lead her. Though Star knew she'd barely scratched the surface of the complex emotions, she also knew she now felt calmer than she had since the whole mess began. She opened her eyes to see Glossaryck unmoved, still smiling slightly. "Huh. Yeah, I think I get it. But, what now? Is that it?"  
  
Glossrayck raised an eyebrow, shrugging slightly. "Hm? Oh yes, we're done. With the warm up."  
  
Star groaned, collapsing down onto her bed, burying her face in a pillow. "I wonder how Marco's doing..."


	4. Back to Nature

King River sat in the waiting room of a doctor's office, busying himself with one of the periodical scrolls he had found on the racks there. The sign above the main examination room read -Dr. Kuak, PhD-. After spending the better part of an hour trying to keep himself entertained with the latest developments in corn science, River heard the creak of a door. Marco Diaz walked out of the examination room, waving back at the doctor inside as he left. The King rose from his seat to greet Marco as he put the scroll back on a shelf. "Ah, Marco my boy. What did the royal physician have to say?"  
  
"Oh, you know. Scratch and bite marks. Muscle strain. Pelvic bruising." Marco cringed slightly. "Friction burns."  
  
River stroked his beard thoughtfully, looking Marco over. "Pretty well what we expected then, eh?"  
  
"I guess. Dr. Kuak said it'll mostly just a matter of time to let myself heal naturally, but he gave me some topical stuff that seems like it helped some. At least I can walk again. Oh, and he gave me these..." Marco held out several vials filled with a sickly, green liquid. "He said it's some kind of healing elixir?"  
  
River leaned in and squinted, studying the concoction closely. He almost felt sorry for Marco as he realized what he was looking at. "Ah... yes. Hold onto that. You'll need it soon enough."  
  
Marco eyed the vials curiously, but shrugged, slipping them into an inner pocket of his hoodie for safekeeping. "So, what now?"  
  
River motioned for the boy to follow, leading him out of the doctor's office and through the halls of the castle. "We're going to take a little trip, you and I. We need to get you someplace safe. Or at least safer."  
  
He had a decent guess as to what River was trying to keep him safe from, but Marco felt he had more pressing concerns. He slowed his pace, falling behind River as he looked longingly down a hallway, one leading in the direction of his girlfriend's room. "But... what about Star?"  
  
River looked genuinely concerned as he backtracked to Marco, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and continuing through the castle with him. "I'm worried about her too. But we have to trust that Glossaryck and her mother will take care of her. Well... her mother will, anyway." River gave Marco a serious look, pulling him away from the hall he had been staring down. "We need to get going as soon as we can, but is there anything you want to ask now?"  
  
"... not really." There were a thousand things Marco wanted to KNOW, but absolutely nothing that he actually wanted to ASK. Especially of River. He remembered how on their previous earth based camping trip, River had expressed some concern over him being Star's boyfriend. Marco had never been entirely sure if River approved of the idea. It hadn't been true at the time, but now that it was, and now that they had been intimate, even if by accident... Marco was not optimistic about the conversation.  
  
River opened one of the side doors leading out of the castle, where a carriage manned by one of the royal family's servants awaited them. "Well, I won't force you. But if we're not going to talk, then it's time to head out." River and Marco approached the carriage, opening the door and sitting down across from each other. "You should try to get some rest during the trip. Right now that's the best thing you can do for yourself, and for Star."  
  
As the carriage started to move, Marco could feel it shaking beneath him. Apparently Mewni hadn't invented shocks yet. Not to mention that his head was still swimming with confusion over everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. "King River, don't take this the wrong way, but I don't really see myself getting much rest right now."  
  
River nodded understandingly, then pointed at Marco's hoodie. "That medicine the doctor gave you? Now would be a good time."  
  
Marco reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the vials, careful to keep it from spilling on the bumpy ride. He uncorked the strange brew, retching as the smell reached his nose, holding it as far away from himself as he could. "Blech! It smells like wet socks!"  
  
River gave Marco a forceful look as he narrowed his eyes, reaching out and pushing the vial back toward him. "Just drink the elixir, lad."  
  
"Ugh... fine." Marco held his nose, throwing the liquid down his throat, nearly vomiting as his tongue registered the taste before he swallowed. Despite his best efforts to avoid the flavor, it was quite possibly the worst thing he had ever tasted. "Aaaaaaaaaaand it also tastes like wet socks. What's IN this?"  
  
Marco could swear he saw River crack a smile. "You probably don't want to know. Now, just sit back and relax. That will help you sleep, and heal faster. Don't worry, the trip will be over before you kn..."  
  
  
  
Marco suddenly found himself returning to consciousness, not quite sure when he had lost it. As he started to regain his senses, he could feel someone prodding his shoulder, a familiar voice echoing in his ear. "Marco? Marco, wake up! We're here, my boy!"  
  
"Mnh... King River?" As he started to rouse from slumber, he remembering starting to travel by carriage with King River, taking some medicine, and then suddenly nothing. Well, the King had definitely been right about it helping him sleep. "How long have we been traveling?"  
  
"Quite a while. Not much farther to go now, but we'll have to finish the trip on foot." River jumped up from his seat, hopping down the carriage step as his servant opened the door for them. "No carriage can go where we're going."  
  
Stepping out of the carriage after River, Marco found himself on the edge of a dense forest. Looking around, he noticed numerous warning and danger signs that had been stuck just outside. Terms like "turn back" and "beware" featured heavily. He couldn't tell offhand if they were the same ones from the Forest of Certain Death, but he wouldn't have been surprised if they were. River pulled a large pack from the rear of the carriage, which appeared to be jammed full of camping supplies. Marco checked for a pack of his own, but found nothing else in the carriage. River patted Marco on the back, grinning at him. "You won't need a pack today. Just let me take care things for now." Marco couldn't help but notice the gear only contained one sleeping bag. "Well then... let's be off."  
  
River and Marco headed toward the tree line in silence. As they crossed over and gradually wandered deeper into the dark forest canopy, Marco found yet more hand painted signs warning of death and dismemberment. At this point, he was starting to fear for his own safety. A deep wood full of danger signs? Camping supplies for one? River finding out that his daughter had just accidentally spent the night with a boy he didn't even know she was dating? After a few more minutes of gruesome images running through his mind, he was sure he was about to snap. If he was going to die, he might as well just get it over with. "Soooooooo... I think maybe I do want to ask you something after all."  
  
River didn't even break stride, continuing through the forest like he'd walked the path a thousand times. "By all means, my boy. I'm an open book!"  
  
"King River, I know you were acting pretty understanding about everything that happened with Star and me, but..." He swallowed nervously, not sure how to ask what was on his mind. "Did you drug me and bring me to the woods to bury me in a shallow grave in a fit of fatherly rage?"  
  
River suddenly turned and stared blankly at Marco for several seconds. Suddenly a snort broke through, and a chuckle, before building into a rising belly laugh. "Hah... Haha. HAH, AHHAAHHAH, AAHHHAHAHAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAA!" River braced himself against a tree, pounding a fist against it as he tried to compose himself. After finally managing to calm himself down, River wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. "Hoooo! I'll have to tell that one to Manfred. Of course not, Marco! Why in the world would you think a thing like that?"  
  
Marco was rather embarrassed by River's reaction, but tried to keep his composure. "Because... because Star and I were... you know. Yesterday?"  
  
River shook his head, giving Marco a sympathetic look. "You didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Believe me, I know."  
  
Marco wondered if River would be upset that they had started dating well before that, but decided to quit that line of questioning while he was ahead. "What about all the warning signs we passed on the way here?"  
  
"Oh, don't worry about those." River waved a hand dismissively. "Just something to scare off troublemakers."  
  
As relieved as he was, Marco was nearly as confused. "So... this ISN'T the Forest of Certain Death?"  
  
"I wish! No Marco, this..." River stepped forward, parting a dense hunk of foliage. He motioned for Marco to step through, and then followed behind. "... is the royal family's private campground in the Forest of Inevitable Relaxation, one of the most peaceful spots in all of Mewni!"  
  
Marco's eyes went wide as he took in the scene that laid before him. The trees broke to reveal a wide, green, sunny clearing, already outfitted with a few tents and other camping equipment. Further on, Marco spotted a small waterfall feeding a pool below and on into a flowing stream, all full of crystal clear water. As he stepped further into the clearing, he could hear the sounds of insects and birds chirping around him with their tranquil songs. "It's BEAUTIFUL!"  
  
"Well, if you like that sort of thing I suppose." As River entered the campsite, he was already removing his royal robes in favor of his formal camping attire, which in River's case meant his loincloth. "I wanted to take you on a hunt for a Narinthian Tar Beast, but my wife said you were in no shape for a REAL vacation. She can be such a worry wart..." Despite River's words, Marco detected a deep fondness in his tone. "So, she suggested we come here."  
  
Marco was gradually starting to feel more at ease. He had always found camping relaxing, and he could certainly think of worse ways to spend a few days recovering from his ordeal. He looked at the King and gave him a warm, genuine smile. "Thanks, King River."  
  
"Just River." He removed the crown from his head, setting it on a nearby stump. "There are no kings out here, Marco. Only two men in nature." River then pointed toward the nearby tents. "Under the circumstances, I sent a few servants ahead to get some things set up. But don't worry, I didn't let them have all the fun! Care to help me finish things up?"  
  
"Definitely!" Whatever had been in the disgusting liquid that put him to sleep earlier, Marco found that it certainly helped take the edge off the soreness. While he was by no means fully recovered, he felt well enough to assist River in the lighter work of completing the camp site.  
  
The pair spent the next few hours gathering firewood and setting up the extra gear River had brought. By the time they were finished, River noticed that Marco had worked up a decent sweat. He took a seat on one of the stumps that had been left around the central fire pit, and motioned for Marco to do the same. "Well Marco, I think we've earned a bit of a break. Is there anything you and I should discuss while we have the chance?"  
  
Marco sat opposite from River on a stump of his own. He didn't really WANT to talk about recent events, but he did need some answers, and he wondered if River might have a point about asking while he could. Feeling as ready as he would ever be, he decided to take River up on his offer. "Can you tell me what really happened? I mean, I kinda figured out some of it, but I feel like there are still a lot of things I don't understand."  
  
River nodded, leaning forward on his stump. "Of course. What do you want to know?"  
  
Marco wasn't quite sure where to start, but something in their conversation with the Queen stuck out to him. "Star said something about Aphrodisia's chapter?"  
  
"That's right. The details aren't important right now, but Star was looking at something in the Book of Spells that Glossaryck was supposed to keep her away from. It's, ah... well, it's pretty much what it sounds like." River scratched his head nervously, clearing his throat. "What you saw was a side effect of toying with it."  
  
"Heck of a side effect..." Marco remembered how Star had appeared to him the previous night, floating out of a portal, completely mute and seemingly emotionless. "Is that why Star was that weird purple bug thing when she showed up yesterday? I thought maybe she was going through Mewberty again or something."  
  
"Not quite, but not too far off either." River shook his head slowly. "Though for the sake of convenience, you can think of it as being a lot like Mewberty."  
  
"Aaaaaaaaaaand, let me guess. We're all the way out here because, if we don't do something to stop it, it's going to happen again." Marco picked up a nearby rock, hurling it toward the water in frustration. "Because apparently, that's just how my life works now."  
  
River nodded slowly, giving Marco a look of deep sympathy. "Possibly. That's what Glossaryck and the Queen are trying to fix. If they fail, hopefully Star won't be able to find you here, or at least not right away. But I'm afraid there's no guarantee of anything."  
  
Marco grumbled quietly, burying his face in his hands. "Great. Because the first time didn't make things weird enough." His body suddenly jerked as a thought struck him. "Wait, Star turned into that bug and came after me, all the way across dimensions? And you think she'd try to find me here? Back when she was going through Mewberty, she was trying to catch any guy she could get her hands on." Marco rubbed his chin, sure that he was onto something important, but he was left with a strange gap. "Why ME?"  
  
"Why indeed." River sat in silent contemplation for a few moments, giving Marco a chance to mull over the question. "Do you mind if I ask YOU something?"  
  
"Huh? Oh... sure. What is it?" Marco wasn't sure what River had in mind, but he thought he wouldn't mind answering what he could.  
  
"You know, it's the darndest thing, Marco. Star's been sneaking out of the castle even more than usual lately, especially at night. I'm used to her avoiding her mother like that, but not me." Sweat was already forming on Marco's brow as he listened to River, wondering if River had figured out how much time he and Star had REALLY been spending together in the previous few weeks. "At first I thought maybe she was going just clubbing, but now I'm starting to wonder if there might be something else going on. I don't suppose you two have, ah... been up to anything interesting?"  
  
Marco could feel River's gaze boring into him from across the fire pit, a single eyebrow raised as he stared skeptically at him. Marco wondered if River might end up leaving his body in the woods after all. Even so, he hated to lie. He had promised Moon he would tell the truth, and he figured he owed the same to River. After River let him sweat for a little bit longer, he finally managed to squeak out a response. "Yes."  
  
River's expression didn't shift in the slightest as he leaned further toward Marco. "As interesting as yesterday?"  
  
Marco shook his head slowly, keeping his eyes locked on River and watching for sudden, possibly threatening movements. "No."  
  
River narrowed his eyes slightly, and Marco could swear that the man was somehow staring into his soul. "Are you two... shall we say... courting?"  
  
"That's... probably a good word for it." Marco swallowed hard, thinking he might have just made an odd choice of dying words.  
  
"I see." River finally relaxed his posture, putting his hands straight out behind him on the stump and leaning back against his arms. "I wish you had said something sooner, but I know it's not an easy conversation at that age. Especially with somebody like my wi-" River suddenly stopped short, coughing a few times. "Well, nevermind. Anything else we should discuss?"  
  
Marco still wasn't exactly comfortable being open with River about Star, but at least he was still alive. He decided to steer away from questions about his "courting" while he had the chance. Though, as he thought about it, the next path he was considering might be even more dangerous. One question in particular had been burning in his mind since the events began, and it was, to say the least, not an easy one. "Yeah. Yeah, there's something else I need to ask about. It's something I probably should have asked the doctor, but I didn't really know how. And I think asking you might be even worse. But it's kiiiiiiiind of important."  
  
Looking surprisingly unperturbed, River casually leaned forward on his stump, almost like he knew what was coming. "Yes Marco?"  
  
Marco took a deep breath, trying to compose himself before speaking. "River... after yesterday, is there any chance Star could be... p... preg-"  
  
"No."  
  
"OH THANK GOD!" Marco's entire being suddenly felt lighter than a feather, as though River had just lifted the entire weight of the world off his shoulders.  
  
"Not unless you're a Mewman, anyway. This isn't the first time a Butterfly has pursued someone from outside the kingdom. There have been demons, mermen, and others. I can't say I understand all the details, but there's something about that transformation that means there won't be any children except with another Mewman." River paused for a moment, looking over Marco as if evaluating him. "But depending on the partner, that's not necessarily true under normal circumstances. Just something to keep in mind. Not that it would ever come up, I'm sure." To Marco's surprise, River's last sentence sounded more ironic than threatening.  
  
Marco nodded slowly at River. With everything that had happened in the past day, he wasn't exactly in a hurry for anything else to "come up". But he would have taken precautions in any case, if it ever came to that.  
  
Seeing his relief, River smiled wide at the boy from across the fire pit. "Well then, is that a load off your mind?"  
  
Marco was more relaxed than he had been since his encounter with Star, feeling like he had just been stepped up to the gallows, only to be pardoned and given a gift basket. "You have NO idea."  
  
"Of course I do!" River chuckled softly at Marco. "There's no one in the world who understands what you're going through better than me. I had this same conversation with my own father in law, and believe me, I know how difficult it is to talk about." River rose from his stump, crossing the center of the camp to take a seat next to Marco, putting a hand on his shoulder. "But I promise, you can say anything to me. Don't be afraid."  
  
Marco was finally starting to feel a little better about his situation. At least he had somebody he could talk to about it. Somebody who had been FAR more understanding than he had expected. He thought for a moment, wondering just what else he wanted to know, until he remembered what he had really been trying to figure out since late the previous night. "How am I supposed to feel about all this?"  
  
"How DO you feel?" The speed of his response made Marco think River might have expected the question.  
  
"I don't know." Marco leaned over, burying his face in his hands. "I'm feeling... everything. Nothing. It's like I'm feeling so many things at once that my brain can't handle it all. But the more I think about it, the more I think I'm not as okay as I thought I was. Star kinda wasn't exactly gentle... in any sense of the word."  
  
River gave Marco a comforting pat on the back. "Being troubled about it doesn't make you weak. You've been through something very strange, and very difficult." When he got no response, River sighed, and spoke in a near whisper. "She'd never do anything to hurt you. You know that."  
  
"I know. And I know she never meant for any of this to happen." Marco had never even considered that Star had done this to him on purpose. From the moment he saw her bug form the previous night, he could tell Star wasn't in her right mind. "I'm not mad at her or anything. Just really, really, REALLY confused. At first, I thought..." Marco stopped short, reconsidering what he was about to do. "You're sure I can say ANYTHING? Because I really don't think you'll like the next part." River nodded, gesturing for him to continue.  
  
"I... was kind of hoping Star and I would have our first time together." Marco was scared to look up, but when he did, he found that River looked significantly less surprised, and less angry, than he had expected. Marco paused, thinking River might say something, but he continued after a few seconds of silence. "I guess it sort of was. But it sort of wasn't, either. Everything about how it happened feels... weird. Wrong. We did kinda talk about it once before, and we said... well, definitely not yet. The way it went wasn't anything like I was expecting. Nothing about it felt right. But the worst part is... it's like it wasn't really even her. I don't know how to explain it. It was like... like..."  
  
"Like looking at your best friend and seeing the face of a stranger?"  
  
Marco was surprised at how accurate the comparison was. As he sat quietly with River, he felt like he'd finally let out everything he could. For now, only had one more question. "What do I do now?"  
  
River looked up at the sky, noting the position of the sun. He thought Marco had gotten enough out of his system for the time being. "Right now, Marco, you can help me catch some fish before it gets too dark. It's getting close to dinner time."  
  
"Huh. Yeah, okay. That actually sounds pretty good." After pouring out so much of his heart, Marco thought maybe he could use a distraction, and he had always found fishing to be calming. Besides that, he WAS starting to get hungry.  
  
"Good! You taught me how to fish on earth, and I thought it was high time I return the favor. Buuuuuuuut..." River pointed down at Marco's clothes. "You might be a bit overdressed for this one." Marco groaned in frustration, resigning himself to his fate as he went to change into his loincloth.  
  
A few minutes later, River and Marco were wading into the stream that flowed out from the waterfall pool. "Right, so. The most common fish in these waters are Mewni rainbow trout. Usually pretty docile, but sometimes you'll get a nibbler. Just watch for the shadow moving beneath the water, and..." River thrust a hand into the stream, pulling up small fish covered in a multitude of bright scales. Just as River had said, it appeared to be a literal rainbow trout, with seven distinct bands of color running across its body. River waited for the fish to stop struggling, then took it over a water bucket he had left on the shore. "There, you see? Give it a try! We'll have dinner over the fire before you know it."  
  
Marco waded a bit deeper into the stream, feeling fairly confident in his fishing abilities. "That doesn't look so hard." Marco smiled, taking a deep breath to prepare himself. As he watched the water, he noticed something moving underneath. He drew his hand back, then jammed it into the water, feeling his hand catch the shadow. "Gotcha!" He started to pull it from the stream, finding only a fin in his hand as the creature rose out of the water... and continued rising. By the time it had mostly surfaced, Marco found himself staring down a very angry looking Mewni rainbow trout the size of a large dog. "Uh-oh."  
  
River watched him from the shore, clapping and cheering. "Well done, Marco! You've got yourself a big one!"  
  
The fish was less pleased. Marco didn't know that fish on Mewni could growl, but he was sure that's what he heard from this one. The fish started tearing around the water pool, taking Marco with him as he held on for dear life. "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"  
  
"Oh, you look like you've got things under control. I'm going to get the cooking fire started." River waved to Marco, and started heading back toward the center of the camp. "Come join me when you've slain the beast!"  
  
If Marco had learned about nothing else in the past few days, it was how to survive a high stakes wrestling match. After a round of intense combat, Marco had managed to tire out the fish and drag it on to dry land, where it finally gave up the struggle. He carried it back to River, who beamed at him with pride as they gutted and prepared the lunker, throwing pieces of it on the fire. After Marco went and changed back into his hoodie and other usual clothes, the pair ate mostly in silence, but not an uncomfortable silence. The two felt no real need for words as they simply enjoyed the sounds and majesty of nature.  
  
It was nearly sunset by the time they finished dinner. Seeing the Mewni sun start to dip below the cliff that carried the waterfall, Marco sat down by the pool to watch, leaning his back against a tree, with River lighting a tobacco pipe beside him. "Marco... can I ask you something else?" Marco's eyes stayed fixed on the sunset, giving a single nod. "What WERE you expecting?"  
  
"From... oh. Oh!" Marco cupped his hands behind his head, relaxing against his chosen tree. "Man, I don't even know anymore. Something more romantic, I guess? Maybe with some smooth jazz?"  
  
River gave the boy a sly grin, prodding him in the side with his elbow. "You really weren't prepared for this, were you?"  
  
"Not even close. Well... uhm... at least I don't think very close." River couldn't help but notice that Marco was starting to look a little nervous, squirming and stammering as he spoke. "I- I mean, look. Hypothetically, right? If a Mewni girl lets a boy touch her wings..."  
  
River's expression was one of slightly forced calm as he clapped a hand against Marco's shoulder. "It would probably be something they shouldn't let her mother find out. And her father wouldn't necessarily want to know the details. I mean, just in case her mother would ever question him about it."  
  
Marco cleared his throat, nodding. "O- okay." This time, Marco figured he should quit while he was behind. "River... why are you so much cooler about this than Queen Moon?"  
  
River scratched his head, briefly seeming at a loss for words. "Well, you know Moon Pie. She worries about Star. She's trying to keep her from making some of the mistakes she did at that age."  
  
"Mistakes?" Marco eyed River curiously, wondering what exactly he meant by that.  
  
"Sometimes passion drives people to do things they shouldn't, or at least things they aren't ready for." River paused, taking a few puffs from his pipe before continuing. "It can make life very complicated, as I'm sure you've learned."  
  
Marco sat quietly for a few seconds, starting to put two and two together. "Is that what happened to the two of you with Aphrodisia's chapter?"  
  
"I don't think my wife would appreciate me telling stories, but..." River stroked his beard in thought before continuing. "Even though something similar happened to us, let's just say I wasn't quite as unprepared as you were." Marco looked at River with surprise, opening his mouth to speak, before River raised a hand and cut him off. "Don't misunderstand me though. There's never been anyone else. Physically, mentally, spiritually, Moon is the only woman I've ever loved... or ever will."  
  
"Wow." Marco sat back up, seeing great affection in River's face as he spoke of his wife. "That sounds... amazing."  
  
Silence then overtook the two until it became nearly unbearable, at least for River, as he tried to force out a question he wasn't sure he wanted to ask. Even if, in truth, he already had a good idea of the answer. "What about you, Marco? Do you love my... do you love Star?"  
  
Marco looked up beyond the sun and simply stared at the sky for several seconds, gathering his thoughts, not even looking River as he finally spoke. "River, I don't even know how to answer that. I'm 14. For a really long time, I thought I loved this girl named Jackie." River remembered how Star had mentioned Marco briefly dating another girl, and how relieved she seemed when she told him that they had broken up. "Now though... it's like that's nothing next to how I feel about Star. I really care about her. A lot. She's way more than just my best friend. Still... I don't know if I can say I love her."  
  
"Hm." River took a puff on his pipe, turning once again toward the sunset. It was, he thought, a fair answer to an unfair question.  
  
"But..." River glanced at Marco out of the corner of his eye, finding a small smile on his face, eyes shining with deep warmth. "I think I'm starting to."  
  
River set his pipe aside, letting out a nearly imperceptible sigh. "She's a wonderful girl. A royal beauty. She could have had anyone she wanted. Prince Tom. That, ah... Oskar fellow." River turned directly toward Marco, pointing a single finger him. "And she chose you. Only you." He gave Marco a serious look, putting a single hand on his shoulder and turning the boy fully toward him. "Take good care of her."  
  
Marco's smile grew just a little wider, gazing back at River. "I will."  
  
They both turned back toward the waterfall, the sun finally dipping out of sight as they sat in silence for a short while, until it was eventually broken by River. "Well, it's getting late. Probably time for us to turn in. Why don't you go ahead and douse the fire? I'll be with you as soon as I finish this pipe."  
  
"Yeah, okay." Marco rose and stretched, turning to head back toward the center of the camp.  
  
As he walked away, he heard River mumbling something that sounded to him like gibberish. "Baloo balee, baloo balow..."  
  
It didn't take Marco long to put out the campfire, but River remained by the pool for a while longer. Marco guessed it was quite a bit longer than it took to smoke a pipe. When he eventually returned, he waved Marco over and pointed out one of the tents that had been set up before they arrived. "Let me show you to where you'll be sleeping. It's already been prepared with everything you'll need, just in case, well... in case Star shows up."  
  
Marco didn't care to dwell on the thought any more than necessary, but he figured it couldn't hurt to be ready. "Oh... okay. That's probably a good idea, I guess."  
  
"Sorry about there not being a change of clothes for you. My wife will be here with those and other supplies first thing in the morning. It was hard to find anything in your size on such short notice. But you do have this!" River opened the tent and stepped toward a plain looking bed in the center, placing a hand on it and bouncing the mattress up and down. "Comfortable, yet magically reinforced and nearly unbreakable!"  
  
Considering how spacious the tent was, Marco found it surprisingly bare. In fact, it was completely empty other than the bed. He poked his head in through the tent opening, not exactly sure what to make of the spartan accommodations. "River, I really appreciate everything today, and I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but... that's it? No silk sheets? No scented candles?"  
  
River let out a small chuckle, slapping Marco on the back as he came out of the tent. "Oh Marco, you won't need any of that! It's not like you two will be making love. This is pure, raw, animal fu-" River stopped suddenly, holding up a hand and scanning the skies for something Marco didn't see. "She's here."  
  
"Here? Like, HERE here?" Marco looked toward the sky in a panic. He hadn't been entirely certain whether this plan would work, but he had at least hoped it wouldn't fail so quickly. He still couldn't see anything, but he thought he might have heard the sounds of large insect wings buzzing in the breeze. And getting closer. "I thought we had more time!"  
  
"And yet here we are." River placed his hands on Marco's shoulders, looking him dead in the eye. "Good luck." With that, River gave Marco a firm shove into the tent. He looked up toward the sound of his daughter's wings, only to find her hovering overhead, her eyes locked with his. Before long, her gaze turned toward the tent, thermal vision detecting her prey within.  
  
While she was distracted, River made a low dash for cover behind the stump where he had placed the crown. He peered out from behind it and watched as Star approached the camp site, coming in for a landing just outside the tent and opening the flap.  
  
"Oh no. No, nonononononono, noooooooooo... no!" River heard crashing and thumping coming from inside the tent and saw Marco try to run out, only for a purple hand to reach out and pull him in again by the back of his hoodie, which already had several rips in it. "STAR! No means NO!" River continued watching in horror as Marco tried to claw his way out of the tent on the ground, now sporting a few bruises. He spotted River, giving him pleading look, making it only a few more feet before he was dragged back inside. "I NEED AN ADULT!"  
  
"I'm not an adult!" River cupped his hands over his mouth, shouting toward the tent. As he heard the sounds inside escalating, he decided it was time for him to leave. He grabbed his crown and ran until he was well clear of the campsite, eventually settling on a tree to spend the night in once he got out of earshot. River climbed high into his chosen refuge for the night and got himself situated, clasping his hands behind his head with a smile and starting to drift off to sleep. "Ah, to be young again..."  
  
  
  
The next morning, Moon and Glossaryck approached the tent to survey the damage. As they reached the entrance, Moon called out to the occupants. "Star? Marco? Are you in there?"  
  
Star blinked slowly as Moon's call roused her from her slumber, letting out a yawn as she started to wake up. "Ugh... mom?"  
  
Moon decided to remain outside the tent for the time being, not sure if everyone inside had gotten a chance to make themselves decent. "Good morning sweetie." Moon cleared her throat in hesitation, already knowing the answer to what she was about to ask. "How, ah... how did things go?"  
  
"Yeeeeeeeeeeah, about that." She looked beside her to find a sleeping Marco, bottom half covered by a blanket, top half covered in scratches and bruises. "Things definitely... went."  
  
Moon closed her eyes, rubbing her temples in frustration as she looked to the small blue figure floating beside her. "Glossaryck... you had ONE job."  
  
"What can I say? She gave me the Freudian slip." Glossaryck shrugged dismissively, as though simply refusing responsibility for the events.  
  
Moon shook her head in disbelief. "How did she even find him this far out?"  
  
Glossaryck looked up at Moon, raising a single eyebrow. "You mean you couldn't smell his cheap cologne all the way from the castle?"  
  
"Glossaryck..." Moon narrowed her eyes threateningly at him.  
  
Glossaryck gave the Queen an exasperated sigh. "Why are you even asking me? Thermal vision, pheromones... all the tricks you used to find River back when he was the one on the menu. What, you honestly thought you could keep them apart with this little game of hide and seek?"  
  
Moon growled low in her throat, completely uninterested in having this conversation again. She turned back toward the tent, calling out to her daughter. "Star, is Marco still in there with you?"  
  
"Yeah, he's here." Star turned back to Marco, putting a hand on one shoulder and trying to gently shake him awake. "Marco... hey, Marco, wake up. Marco? MARCO! Uh-oh." Star's eyes went wide with fear as Marco laid stone silent. "Mom... I think I killed Marco."  
  
"River said Marco got some of Dr. Kuak's elixir. He must have taken it, erm..." She wasn't quite sure how to put it politely. "... afterwards. He might sleep for a while longer."  
  
"Ohhhhhhh. I thought I smelled wet socks." Star wiped the nervous sweat from her forehead, relieved that she hadn't completely broken her boyfriend. "Wait, is dad here?"  
  
"Your father is packing up the camp. In the mean time, I brought you some clothes. Marco too." The tent flap unzipped slightly, and Moon slid a stack of neatly folded clothes through, with one of Marco's hoodies resting on top. "I found these in your closet... for some reason."  
  
There was tone of suspicion in the last few words that Star feared. Had Glossaryck said something? She knew how persuasive her mother could be, but she felt betrayed that Glossaryck had broken her trust like that. "GLOSSARYYYYYYYYYYYCK! You promised not to tell my mom that I took my clothes off for Marco!"  
  
"Hubba-hubba-WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?" Moon violently ripped open the tent flap as she burst inside, completely destroying the zipper beyond repair.  
  
Glossaryck floated in behind her, slapping a palm against his forehead and dragging it down his face. "I didn't."  
  
Slowly, nervously, Star's eyes shifted from Glossaryck back toward Moon, as she began to sweat bullets. She couldn't blame this one on Aphrodisia's chapter, and she wasn't sure how understanding her mother would be if she found out about the recent wing massage, but now she had her back to a wall. "... I can explain."  
  
Glossaryck fixed Star with a dull gaze, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Can you though?"  
  
Moon and Star shot him a death glare in unison, with Moon leaning over him intimidatingly. "And what do YOU know about this?"  
  
Glossaryck looked up nervously at Moon and snapped his fingers, conjuring a zipper over his lips, which he immediately dragged across his mouth before floating backward out of the tent.  
  
Moon opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off as she and Star heard Marco beginning to stir. Before even opening his eyes, he felt like he had been run over by a giant invisible goat. He somewhat painfully stretched and yawned, rubbing the sleep away as he slowly opened his eyes, which went gradually ever wider as he scanned his surroundings. He turned toward Star as she squirmed nervously in the bed next to him, face filled with concern as she tugged the blankets to cover her bare body. "Oh." Looking to the floor, he once again found his clothes in tatters. As before, Star's were removed but mostly intact. "Oh..." Marco's eyes continued to sweep the room, and his gaze eventually met Moon, who was watching him with a mixture of disappointment and grudging acceptance. "Oh no." He cringed and waved to the Queen, smiling nervously. "Hi... Queen Moon."  
  
Moon gave Marco a cold glare in response, not exactly angry, but clearly far from happy with the situation. "Hello Marco." She turned and started to walk out of the tent with a soft sigh. "Just... get dressed and get out here. I'll be waiting." After she exited, she suddenly turned back and poked her head through the ruined tent flap. "And no peeking! Either of you." Moon narrowed her eyes as she slowly slid her head backwards of out the tent, closing it behind her as best she could given the broken zipper.  
  
Star and Marco exited a few minutes later, fully dressed for whatever came next. Marco put a hand over his forehead and looked up to find the sun much higher in the sky than he had expected. "Wait, what time is it?"  
  
Moon looked at the sky with him, squinting at the bright summer sun. "Oh, about mid morning I suppose. What does it matter?"  
  
"Uh-oh. My parents got back home from vacation this morning. And I didn't leave a note! I always leave a note!" Star and Moon could both tell that Marco was starting to panic. "They probably think I got kidnapped again or something! Queen Moon..."  
  
Moon nodded to Marco, giving him her blessing. "Do what you have to do, but do it quickly. Star, go with your father and Glossaryck back to the castle. Marco, meet us back there as soon as you can. I have to go get some things ready. There's one more place you might be safe."  
  
Marco took the dimensional scissors he had retrieved from his old hoodie, opening a portal back to earth. Before leaving, Marco turned to say goodbye Star, who he was surprised to find was on the verge of tears. Star couldn't even look him in the eye. She couldn't believe she wasn't able to stop herself from hurting Marco... and now he had to be torn away from her again.  
  
Seeing her disturbed state, Marco stepped away from the portal. As he approached Star, he knew he wanted to say something, but found himself at a loss for words. Instead Marco simply reached his arms out and wrapped them around her, pulling Star tight against his body. To her immense relief, she sensed no fear or anger from her lover as she returned the gesture, slipping her own arms around Marco. She nuzzled gently into his neck, a wave of happiness washing over her as she basked in his comforting warmth.  
  
Moon rather pointedly cleared her throat, and when the teens looked up they found her giving them a stern look as she gestured toward the portal. Marco grudgingly stepped away from his partner, walking toward the gateway back to his home.  
  
Marco waved a goodbye to Star, and stepped though the portal alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note. Several people have taken the "Star can't get pregnant unless Marco is a Mewman" line in a way that I didn't intend when I wrote it. I wrote this chapter and posted it on another site a long time before we knew about Mewmans and humans being related. There was another, unrelated reason for that line originally but it's not really important now. I did a bad job at saying what I meant to say.
> 
> No teen pregnancy in this story, folks.


	5. The Worst Kept Secret

Marco stepped out of the dimensional portal to his home, landing in the living room. Nothing immediately appeared to be out of place. He was sure his parents would've come home by now. Though he didn't know if they'd still be here, or at the police station, filing a missing person report. He called out, hoping someone would be around to hear him. "Mom? Dad? Is anybody here?"

"Up here, son!" Marco heard his father's voice calling out to him from upstairs.

As soon as he heard the response, Marco raced up the stairs to his room. He froze in terror as he found his parents seated on his bed, his father holding the dress Star had left behind on her recent Friendship Thursday visit.

They stared at it with a mixture of confusion and concern. As much as Marco's parents tried to respect his privacy, they had been seriously worried when they found him absent without a note. Afraid that he had been taken by one of his or Star's enemies as he had once before, they had decided to check his room for anything unusual. They'd definitely found it, as they sat on Marco's bed together, unsure what to think about the presence of an unfamiliar dress in their son's room. They certainly had a few theories. Mr. and Mrs. Diaz turned their gaze toward their son, who watched them like a deer caught in headlights, before Rafael finally broke the silence.

"One of yours?"  
Marco slowly shook his head.  
"Belongs to another princess?"  
Marco hesitated for a moment, but then nodded slowly.  
"Anyone we know?"  
Another pause, and another nod.  
"Is there something you want to tell us?"

"Tell you? Oh, you mean about the dress? That! Yeah!" Marco tried to stall for time while his brain raced to come up with an explanation. He didn't want to lie, but he didn't exactly want to tell the truth either. "That was just, uh..." Marco cleared his throat and put on a wide, extremely guilty smile. "Soooooooo... how was your vacation?"

His parents looked at him, not exactly disappointed, but almost expectantly. Like they knew he couldn't really lie to them. The smile dropped from his face, replaced by a dead serious look. Marco took a deep breath, mentally preparing for a conversation he had desperately hoped to avoid. He had fully intended to tell his parents about most of the past few days, but he hadn't been quite ready to discuss why Star's dress was in his room. But, he thought, no getting out of it now. "I- I guess there are some things we need to talk about."

Marco's parents exchanged a glance, then scooted apart on the bed to make room for him. Angie patted the empty spot between them, gesturing for Marco to sit down.

Marco set his dimensional scissors on the night stand, then took his place between them, burying his head in his hands with a deep sigh. As much as Marco hadn't looked forward to talking to his parents about the any of the recent events in his life, somehow the dress seemed like the hardest topic of them all. If only because he and Star had nobody to but themselves to blame for that one. "Ugggggggggghhhh... okay. Just promise me that no matter how weird it gets, you'll hear me out before you say anything."

"Marco, please. We're your parents. And Star lived here for almost a year. We know all about weird. Besides..." Angie grabbed one sleeve of Star's dress, her husband grasping the other arm, holding it up in front of Marco. "I don't think this could be any weirder than it looks."

"Well... give it a minute." Marco reached out and took the dress from his parents, staring nervously at it as he sorted through his memories, trying to figure out how to explain his situation to his parents. "Alright. Let me start from the beginning..." Before Marco could get any further, he heard a loud rumbling coming from his stomach. Between his recent high levels of physical activity, lack of a normal sleep cycle, and sporadic meal schedule, he thought he might not still be conscious by the end of the explanation.

"Maybe it would be better if we discussed this over brunchfast burritos." Angie rested a hand on her son's shoulder. "It's still technically Sunday morning."

"Now that you mention it, I probably shouldn't get this awkward on an empty stomach." While food seemed like a good idea to him, Marco also wanted to take the opportunity to plan for his return trip while he could. "Can I meet you guys downstairs in a little bit? I need to take care of a few things while I'm here."

"Come talk to us when you're ready, son." Marco's parents stood up from the bed, slipping silently out of the room and closing the door behind them.

Marco went to work as soon as his parents left his room. He grabbed a travel bag, packing several day's worth of clothes and other supplies, hoping he wouldn't need them. Then he carefully folded Star's dress, slipping it into his pack. He also took the chance to apply some of the healing cream Dr. Kuak had given him, trying to do everything he could to keep himself in good condition for whatever might come next. Afterward, he remained in the peace and quiet of his room for a while, enjoying the only real solitude he'd had in several days, until he heard his mother calling him for burritos.

 

A short time later, the entire Diaz family was sitting around the kitchen table, brunchfast now complete. Marco was still feeling drained from the previous night's activities, and after skipping breakfast as well, he had eagerly devoured his meal. His parents' food remained nearly untouched as they stared slack jawed at their son, dumbstruck at the tale he had told them about the past few days of his life.

Marco had glossed over a few of the details of how Star's dress had ended up in his room, but aside from that minor omission, he held nothing else back as he caught his parents up on what had taken place since Thursday. True to their word, they had kept quiet throughout the entire explanation. In part because they had absolutely no idea how to react.

It was Rafael who eventually decided to speak up, wanting to make sure that he properly understood the facts of the bizarre story his son had just told him. "So you and Star have been... what did you say the cool kids call it now? Courting?"

Marco was fairly certain that the cool kids had never called it that in any dimension, but that was how he recalled River referring to it, anyway. "Yeah, something like that."

Angie, meanwhile, decided to go straight for the proverbial throat. "And, in a series of events that you suspect are somehow related to that, Star read some kind of forbidden magic in her book that made her go crazy and... have her way with you?"

"Preeeeeeetty much." Marco thought it was a reasonable summary of the recent events.

Marco waited nervously as his parents simply stared at him in shock for several tense seconds, watching their blank expressions as he waited for their reaction. "... we believe you."

"About everything. Star may be a criminal, but she's not THAT kind of criminal." As bad as the situation was, Rafael was relieved that at least Star hadn't MEANT to hurt Marco.

Angie looked sympathetically to her son, and Marco already knew the question that was coming. "So how are you feeling?"

"Man, if I have a nickel for every time I've been asked that in the past couple days. I'd have like... 3 nickels. Maybe 4? I kinda lost track." Marco had been thinking a lot about that question, but though he'd had a bit of time alone to consider it, he still hadn't gotten everything straight in his head. "Honestly, every time I think I've got it figured out, I end up changing my mind. So... can I get back to you on that?"

"Of course, son. Take your time." Angie was horrified at what had happened to her son, now finding herself wishing that the obvious explanation of two teenagers giving into their hormones had been the correct one. She wouldn't have been entirely happy about that either, but she was sure it would've been infinitely less jarring for Marco. "Though... at least all that explains how the dress got there." 

Marco stared nervously back at his mother, covering his mouth with his hand and letting out a light cough.

Marco's parents both stared at him, the realization hitting them that their first instinct had been right all along, at least regarding the dress. Angie eventually managed to mutter a terse acknowledgement. "... oh."

Rafael fidgeted nervously in his chair, having long dreaded the day that he would have to discuss the more detailed aspects of his son's love life with him. "Were you two at least... safe?"

Marco blushed at the question, not wanting to give his parents any more detail than absolutely necessary, but not wanting to worry them either. "We, uhm... we didn't do anything THAT dangerous. And even with the other stuff that happened, that's at least one thing we don't have to worry about. It's hard to explain, but I checked with King River. Absolutely nooooooooooo chance of a Marco Jr. from any of this."

"That's good to hear." Angie leaned over the kitchen table, giving her son a relieved smile. "Still, maybe you and your father should have a talk when you get back."

"We should?" Rafael looked blindsided by his wife's suggestion as she turned back toward him, only following up after she kicked his leg under the table. "Ow! I mean, oh! Oh, yes, of course!"

"Marco, it's wonderful to finally hear the... well, I was going to say 'news'... about you and Star dating. But to be honest, when you broke up with Jackie completely out of nowhere, we sort of guessed there was something going on with you two." Marco's parents glanced at each other with knowing smiles. "Actually I think we're more surprised that it took this long."

Marco raised an eyebrow curiously. "Wha-"

"But the rest of it?" Angie didn't even give her son the chance to respond. "Well, it's... it's a lot to take in."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Rafael suspected that there wasn't, but he hated not being able to do anything when his son was in trouble, and knew his wife felt the same way.

"Right now? Probably not." Seeing the disappointed look on their faces, he continued with a smile. "But for what it's worth, brunchfast really did make me feel a lot better."

With no one sure what else to say, the Diaz family fell silent. Marco's parents had many, many more questions, but they could tell Marco had said all he wanted to for the time being. After a few quick looks shot between them, they managed to narrow it down to just one more question. "So what happens now?"

Marco had been wondering about that himself, although he at least knew what HE had to do next. "Now? Well... I have to go back. I already tried running and hiding, and that didn't do any good. But Queen Moon says she has another idea." Marco ran his fingers through his hair, not sure what else to tell his parents. "I don't know exactly how long I'll be gone, but I'm guessing maybe a few days. I just packed a bag while mom was cooking. I have to go grab it from my room, then I'm headed back to Mewni."

As much as Marco's parents wanted to do something to help him, they figured Queen Moon was probably their best bet for dealing with this sort of thing. Rafael took his wife's hand, both rising from their seats and coming around the table over to Marco, both of them pulling him into a group hug. "Take care of yourself. We love you, son."

"Stay safe." Angie gave Marco a squeeze before the family pulled apart.

"Here's hoping." Marco nodded and smiled slightly, then turned and slowly headed back up the stairs. Marco looked back as he neared the top of the staircase, waving goodbye to his parents, who waved back to him. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

As he returned to his room, he grabbed his travel bag and dimensional scissors, opening a portal back to Mewni. He found that he still wanted to see Star again, even if he wasn't exactly looking forward to the events that might follow. Regardless, he knew the best thing he could do to get things with Star back to normal was to go see what Moon had planned for him. "Well... here goes nothing." After one more brief moment of mental preparation, Marco stepped through the portal.

 

Back on Mewni, Star was preparing for an awkward discussion of her own. The Queen had vanished for a few hours with Glossaryck, and her father had run off somewhere to do who knows what, leaving the Princess to her own devices. Star had tried everything she could think of to get her mind off her troubles, from visiting the warnicorn stables to taking out her frustrations on training dummies. So far, nothing had worked. She found herself with a mixture of relief and trepidation when, a few minutes ago, a castle messenger had tracked her down, telling her only to meet her mother in the situation room. Immediately going there as requested, she found only her mother and Glossaryck inside. Star quietly took a seat next to him and opposite to the Queen.

Moon stared coolly at them from the opposite seat, elbows rested on the table, hands folded together. Star had expected her mother to be furious after her failure, wondering if the conversation would end with her getting a few decades in the time out corner. Instead the Queen just looked and sounded frustrated. "So. I suppose you could say Aphrodisia's magic still has its hooks in you." Frustrated, and a little bit curt.

"Yeah. Yeah, you could say that." Star rested an elbow on the large conference table, drumming the fingers of her free hand impatiently, wondering where her mother was going with this.

"Well." Moon inhaled deeply, with a look on her face that Star recognized as an incoming lecture. "Let's try to prevent any further damage, shall we?"

"FURTHER damage? Aren't we trying to lock the barn door after the warnicorn already ran out?" Star knew what her mother meant, but she wondered if the whole thing couldn't have been avoided in the first place. "If Aphrodisia's chapter is so dangerous, why didn't you warn me about it before I found it?"

Moon raised an eyebrow skeptically, then turned to address Glossaryck. "Glossaryck, what was the first thing Star did after you told her not to read Aphrodisia's chapter?"

Glossaryck stroked his beard, pretending to be deep in thought. "Is this a trick question?"

Moon stared back at Glossaryck briefly, then pinched the bridge of her nose, already feeling a headache coming on. "It might as well be."

Star inhaled and raised a finger as she prepared to offer a rebuttal, but lowered her hand and let out the breath when she realized she didn't really have one available to her. "Okay, well... that's fair."

"That being the case, I was planning to cross that bridge when we came to it and try to help you keep things under control with the proper training." Moon tented her index fingers and gave her daughter a disappointed look. "But... well, we both know how that turned out."

Star groaned, propping herself up on both hands now. She really wasn't in the mood for a parental speech. "Moooooooooooooom, I did everything Glossaryck told me!" Even if hadn't worked, Star really felt like she had done all she could. "I even meditated for like three stupid hours!"

Glossaryck glanced over toward Star, regarding her curiously. "Star, it wasn't even five minutes before you were making sound effects and pretending you were training under a waterfall, like those monks in Marco's awful kung fu movies."

"Awful KARATE movies." Star turned toward her mentor, closing her eyes and raising a single finger, a surprising level of conviction in her voice as she corrected Glossaryck. "Marco says kung fu is the weird, creepy uncle of martial arts."

Moon leaned over the table and snapped her fingers several times in right front of her daughter's face. "Star, FOCUS!"

"Fine!" Star threw her hands in the air in defeat, conceding the point. "So the whole meditating thing didn't work out. But I really did do everything else!"

Moon turned her eyes toward Glossaryck, looking for corroboration. "Glossaryck?"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's true. She actually did." Glossaryck shrugged in mild surprise.

"Hm. And which exercise was it where you talked about... how did you put it..." Moon rather deliberately cleared her throat. "... taking your clothes off for Marco?"

Star immediately blushed hard at the memory, but did her best to shake it off and keep her cool. "Sooooooooooooooo... here's the thing about that."

"Oh, I can't WAIT to hear this." Moon knew she was about to hear Star trying to talk her way out of getting in trouble for doing something she shouldn't have been doing. At least the stories were usually creative. The Queen folded her hands together once more and leaned toward her daughter, awaiting an explanation.

Star had mixed feelings about her chances. It had all started as a harmless joke, and it had still ended... relatively harmlessly. Star figured that would be a good place to start, and her mother might understand if she explained it as beginning with a simple prank. "Look, I just wanted to mess around with Marco." In hindsight, Star thought that might not have been the best way to open.

Though she clearly wasn't pleased with the response, Moon looked more surprised than angry. She could hardly believe that Star would admit to anything without some sustained grilling, especially something that serious. "Mess around? Is that what children are calling it these days?"

Star stammered as she tried to correct herself, wondering how it was all going so wrong, so quickly. "N- no, I didn't... I mean... when I took my clothes off, I wasn't even planning to jump him yet!"

"Oh my corn..." Moon stared at her daughter in awe, eyes going wider with total shock at how fast the conversation was escalating.

Star wasn't sure if she could recover from this, but she decided she had to try. At least there was no way she could make it worse. "I got distracted and forgot about my dress and I ended up leaving it on the floor! I was just having so much fun with Marco rubbing me..." Well, maybe there was.

"Stop! Stop... STOP." Moon buried her face in her hands, trying to wipe away the look of pure horror at her daughter's actions, mumbling just loud enough that Star could hear her. "Where did I go wrong in raising you? Is it because I didn't get you that My Little Warnicorn toy you wanted for your ninth birthday? Was it all those corn and habanero smoothies I drank when I was pregnant?"

"No, you don't understand!" Star groaned in frustration as she dug herself deeper and deeper, knowing that the truth of the situation wouldn't have made her mother happy, but wasn't nearly as bad as she was somehow making it sound. In desperation, she decided it was time to turn to her mentor for aid. "Glossaryck, help me out here!"

Glossaryck wagged a single finger at Star, floating away slowly to distance himself. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh nonononononono. You can't blame Aphrodisia for THAT one. You made your own bed, with Marco in it, and now you have to lie there."

Star was beginning to sweat now, wondering if the Queen had the legal power to throw her own daughter in the dungeon. "Mom, seriously, we weren't even-"

Moon raised her hand up toward her daughter, bringing an end to Star's poor excuses. After everything she'd just heard, Moon found herself in a state of mild shock. "Is that why you were looking at Aphrodisia's chapter? The old fashioned way was getting TOO BORING for you!?"

"I've been trying to tell you, that's not what we were- whatever, and also no!" Since every attempt to explain the situation seemed to somehow be making it worse, Star decided to cut her losses. She took a brief pause, hoping she could at least explain what she had been trying to accomplish with Aphrodisia's chapter. "Okay, look. Everything since Marco and I started dating has been totally amazing. But it was like... it was so good, I just kept wanting more. I was looking in Aphrodisia's chapter for something to... to... I don't know. To get us closer."

Moon eyed Star curiously, her tone softening, even sounding a little sympathetic. "Closer?"

"Not just physically. I mean, maybe, but..." Star trailed off as she tried to find the words, not wanting to get herself in any more trouble.

"Physically?" Moon sighed with parental disappointment, but tried to remain supportive of her daughter's new relationship. "Star. You're getting too far ahead of yourself. For now, just try to appreciate the simple things."

"I'm trying! And I really have been appreciating them! A lot, actually!" Even aside from her recent Thursday night adventure with Marco, Star was starting to realize that had come to enjoy even the most mundane aspects relationship more than ever, including their simple friendship. Still, it was hard for her not to want more. "But I mean, come on. Why did YOU read Aphrodisia's chapter?"

"That- Star, this isn't about what I did!" Moon was forced to admit to herself that her daughter had a point, but telling Star that wouldn't help the situation. "But make no mistake, I know all about what you two are facing-"

"Marco isn't a Mewman!" Star thought that Marco might have been less prepared for some of the complications of dating a Mewman princess, but unlike her parents, at least she and Marco weren't genetically compatible while she was transformed. "The problems you and dad went through aren't even-"

Moon was starting to lose her composure as the argument escalated, shouting at Star from across the table. "Your father and I got LUCKY!"

"Wait, I'm confused." The pair jumped slightly when Glossaryck spoke, having been so deep in their conversation and subsequent argument that they had forgotten about him. He looked over at Moon, raising an eyebrow. "I thought getting lucky is what we're trying to trying to stop."

Moon rose and slammed her fists on the table, glaring daggers at Glossaryck before pointing at the door and banishing him from the room through clenched teeth. "You. OUT."

Glossaryck shrugged as he floated over to the door, magically flinging it open with a wave of his hand, then closing it behind him as he exited.

Moon seemed to calm a little as Glossaryck left, sliding back into her seat. "Star... just because you don't face all the same risks we did doesn't mean there aren't consequences."

"Consequences? You think YOU'RE worried about the consequences? What if... what if Marco doesn't want to stay with me after this?" Star's expression went dark as her mind raced with terrifying possibilities, having spent most of the day unable to shake them from her thoughts. "What if he doesn't even want to be friends anymore?"

Moon stopped dead in her tracks. She remembered that her daughter had expressed similar concerns the previous day, but she hadn't realized just how deep the fear ran. She wondered if perhaps she should have known better, given what had happened between her and River in their youth. "I'm... sorry."

Star instantly snapped out of her trance, eyes wide with surprise, not sure if she'd heard correctly. "That's, uh... did you just learn that word?"

"Star, don't make this difficult." Moon's tone and glare were halfway between frustration and mild amusement.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry too. Maybe... maybe I was in too big of a hurry." Star sighed deeply, knowing that her mother was just trying to help her. "I know I shouldn't be mad at you about this. I'm just really worried about Marco. And about... about..."

Moon rose from her seat and walked around the edge of the table, placing her hands on Star's shoulders, looking her right in the eyes, her countenance having softened a bit. "Yes?"

"About... us. Everything is SUPER weird right now, I don't know what I'll do if it gets any worse..." Moon sensed her daughter had more to say, and waited for her to continue. "I know I should be worried about Marco and not me right now, and I really am worried about him, but... I don't think I can ever go back to the way things were before I met him. It's like there was this Marco shaped hole in my life I didn't even know was there. If he wasn't around anymore, I think... I think I might actually go crazy. Like full on, voices telling me to burn things, padded room in the dungeon crazy. I know everything I just said probably even SOUNDS crazy, but-"

Moon gently put a finger over her daughter's lips. "Star, I understand. I really do." Moon remembered feeling much the same way when she and River had faced Aphrodisia's chapter. "And... maybe I shouldn't have waited for you to find Aphrodisia's chapter on your own, even if you weren't ready for it. Maybe especially if you weren't. I know you're feeling so many new and powerful emotions at your age, and it can be difficult to keep them in check, even without magic making things worse. Just... try to keep your clothes on next time?" Moon smiled warmly at her daughter, but then suddenly gave her an almost distracted look, before quickly reverting to her usual all business tone. "But we can talk more about that later. Right now, the most important thing for both of you is to get this under control as soon as we can. So let's get to it."

Star wasn't sure why her mother was trying to end the conversation so suddenly, but she didn't have much more to say at the moment in any case. She was ready to get back to the task at hand. "Yeah... okay. Guess it's time to go get dad and Glossaryck?"

Moon rolled her eyes with a frustrated sigh. "I suppose so. Boys." Queen Moon flicked her wrist and swung the door open with her magic, with River, Glossaryck, Marco, and Marco's travel bag all falling into the room in a heap.

"Hubba-wha?" Star blinked twice in surprise as they tumbled to the ground, staring up at the Queen and Princess, looking like they had just been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Moon seemed completely unfazed, giving all three a completely deadpan look. "Marco. You're back. Imagine my surprise."

River quickly reached out and clamped a hand over Marco's mouth before he could respond, not trusting him to be a capable liar, releasing the boy only after he began to speak to his wife. "Darling! We were just, ah... coming to tell you about that!" River and Marco both rose from the ground, pushing themselves up next to a now floating Glossaryck. "But then, the door got stuck, so we were leaning against it to try to open it, and wouldn't you know it-"

"I don't care." Moon wasn't even interested in hearing the rest of the excuse, figuring it probably wouldn't get any more plausible from there. "We need to get back to business as soon as possible. Glossaryck, keeping working with Star." Glossaryck gave a quick salute, immediately heading off to prepare Star's next exercise. "River, you're..." Moon turned hesitantly toward her husband, unsure of what to do with him for the time being. "... at large."

"EXCELLENT!" River instantly tore his royal robes to reveal his loin cloth, dashing out the door and down the hall, letting loose with a war cry.

"Eugh... close enough. Marco." Then Queen stepped over to the boy, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're with me."

"Wait, right now?" Star looked over to Marco, having hoped to at least get a chance to talk with him before getting back to work.

"Yes Star, right now." As much as Moon hated to pull them apart yet again, she feared that leaving them together would only make Star's temptation worse.

Marco stepped over to Star's side, and looked up at the Queen with a pleading expression. "Queen Moon, please... we need two minutes."

The Queen didn't look particularly pleased, staring down the couple. But as the look in Marco's eyes grew increasingly serious, she could tell that he wasn't going to budge. Moon suddenly broke off her stare as she let out a small sigh. "Two minutes." Moon turned and slipped out of the room, leaving the pair alone.

After making sure her mother was well out of earshot, Star swallowed hard, eyeing Marco and shuffling her feet nervously. "How, ah... how long were you listening?"

"Star, I heard everything. I don't even know what to say. I had no idea that you..." Marco couldn't hold back a smile as he saw a horrified blush rising on Star's face. "Actually, your mom opened the door like two seconds after we got here."

"Marco, that isn't funny! I seriously thought that-" Star's own facade suddenly broke with a snort that was just short of a snicker. Star grabbed Marco and pulled him into a faux headlock, ruffling his hair and giggling. "You're lucky you're cute, Diaz." As Marco pulled away and fixed his hair, the two found that a good deal of the tension from the previous few days had dissolved. "Did you get everything worked out with your parents?"

Marco wondered what exactly Star had said that she didn't want him to hear, but under the circumstances he figured it would be best to let it go. "More or less. They seemed pretty worried about everything, but I think they understood. Oh! Also, I wanted to give this back." Marco set his travel bag on the table, carefully removing Star's dress. It was a bit wrinkled from the trip, but he didn't think it was anything a quick run through the Royal Wash wouldn't fix.

Star was rather touched that Marco had remembered to bring back her dress in the middle of the current chaos. "Aww. Thanks, Marco!" Star took the dress and set it aside on the table, planning to take it back to her room later. "Good thing your parents didn't find it."

Marco gave Star a nervous smile. "Now that you mention it..."

"Oh. OH." Star cringed a little, imagining Marco's parents would be relatively understanding, but still starting to get a little twitchy about just how many people were finding out about their recent activities. Star didn't really mind people simply knowing that they were dating, at least now that their parents were aware, but she still considered certain things to be private. "So they know about... More-Than-Friendship Thursday?"

"Kinda. I mean, no details, but my dad is supposed to talk to me about some things when I get back." Now it was Marco's turn to look embarrassed, blushing and trying to avoid Star's gaze. "Other than that, they actually seemed really happy that we're... courting?"

"... courting?" Star smirked at her boyfriend, forcing herself not to laugh. "You dork."

"What?" Marco looked genuinely confused. "Isn't that what they call it on Mewni?"

"Pfft, no." Star felt about as confused as Marco looked. "Who the heck calls it courting? Sounds like something my dad would say."

"Yeah... about that. I may have said SLIGHTLY too much about Thursday when we were having a man to man conversation in the Forest of Inevitable Relaxation..." Star seemed a bit surprised, so Marco quickly followed up. "He was really cool about the whole thing though!"

Star looked relieved that her father had been so accepting. "Yeah. I don't think my dad will give us any trouble. He never did when I was dating Tom, and he actually likes you." She gave Marco a playful poke. "And I told my mom we're dating, too. So I guess that's pretty much everybody, at least as far as family." The princess giggled softly, smiling at her partner and brushing a stray lock of hair away from her face. "We're terrible at keeping secrets, aren't we?"

Marco chuckled, running his fingers through his hair. "Heh. Yeah. But it could be worse. Your mom could know about Thursday."

Star shot Marco a nervous glance. "Well-"

The pair suddenly heard Moon's voice calling from down the hall. "Star? Marco? It's been a lot more than two minutes!"

Star gave her partner a wistful smile as they prepared to part again. "Guess it's time for you to go."

Marco nodded and turned to leave, then suddenly turned back, smiling and pulling Star into a tight hug. "We're gonna be okay."

Star squeezed him back just as tightly, letting out a contented sigh. "Yeah."

Moon cracked open the door, finding the couple reluctantly pulling away from each other as they turned toward the sound. "I'll meet you outside at the carriage, Marco."

"Whenever you're ready." Marco nodded to Moon and grabbed his bag as he slipped out the door, heading out toward the front of the castle.

Moon waited for Marco to shut the door behind him, then turned toward Star. "Are things any better between you two?"

"A little." Star smiled happily, feeling like things had made at least a bit of progress back toward normalcy.

"I'm glad. I hope Glossaryck is able to help you this time, but just in case... I need to get Marco somewhere safe." The Queen turned to leave, then looked back at her daughter. "If all goes well, then the next time I see you this will all be over. Good luck, Star."

"Mom, wait." Star grabbed the sleeve of her mother's dress, tugging at the fabric. Moon glared slightly as she looked back, annoyed at yet another delay. "Please. It's important."

Moon closed her eyes, letting out an irritated sigh. "Fine, but make it quick. We're already running late."

Star took a deep breath, bracing herself for the magnitude of the request she was about to make. "I need you to promise me something..."


	6. The Mewginot Line

Having left the castle at Moon's request, Marco felt like he had been waiting at the carriage for hours, even though it hadn't really been more than about 15 minutes. Still, for someone who was supposedly in such a hurry, Marco thought the Queen seemed to be taking her time. While he had appreciated the solitude in his room that morning, now he found that he just wanted to get on with whatever came next. As he leaned against the carriage, wondering what that might be taking so long, Marco realized it was a bit odd that there was no driver waiting there for them as there had been with River. He thought Moon might be bringing one with her, but everything else in the carriage looked like it was already fully prepared, with bags full of supplies having been loaded by the time he got there, and even a warnicorn looking ready to go.

He didn't have much more time to contemplate the mystery, as he soon heard footsteps approaching. Marco turned and raised an eyebrow as he noticed the Queen dressed in an unfamiliar set of armor, which he took to be her battle regalia. He also couldn't help but notice that she had come alone. "Queen Moon? Is everything okay?"

"Yes. Well, relatively. Just... a last minute wardrobe adjustment." Something definitely seemed to be bothering Moon. Marco couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he assumed it had something to do with her sudden change in fashion sense.

"Yeah, about that." Marco was slightly afraid to ask, but he figured he might as well get the question out of the way. "I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this, but based on... certain recent events... I just need to ask up front if you're taking me off somewhere to murder me in cold blood and leave the body for the vultures."

"What? No! Why would you... wait." Moon furrowed her brow as the realization hit her. "River."

"Got it in one." Marco didn't seem particularly surprised at how fast Moon had figured it out.

"He didn't tell you anything about where you were going or why. Of course he didn't." Marco shrugged as the Queen shook her head in disappointment at her husband. "Marco, he wasn't trying to scare you. He just... didn't think."

"I know, I know. It's just... I feel like like nobody wants to tell me what's really happening. I mean... you look like you're loaded for bear, or whatever big scary animals they have in the Forest of Certain Death." Marco then gestured toward the unoccupied carriage, the rising frustration evident in his voice. "And a carriage with no driver? What the heck is going on?

"I'll be driving. As to where we're going... it's a bit difficult to explain, but think of it as a sort of safe house." Moon gave the carriage a quick once over, making sure it was ready for the journey ahead. "I'll tell you the rest when we get there. I promise."

A safe house sounded like as good a place as any to Marco, assuming it was actually safe. But he had his doubts, and he was starting to resent being kept in the dark. At the same time, Marco knew that if there was anyone he could trust with his safety right now, it was Moon. "Well... okay. Let's go, I guess."

"Good. Take some elixir and hop in. We're far enough behind schedule as it is." Moon stepped up to her place in the driver's seat of the carriage, taking the reigns of the waiting warnicorn.

As Marco slid into the back of the carriage, he could feel that he still hadn't had enough time to physically recover. He wondered if taking so much of this medicine might not be good for his body, but at the moment, his current soreness outweighed his long term health concerns. Reaching into his pockets, Marco retrieved a vial of the foul brew, holding his nose before draining it. He leaned back and tried to relax, allowing the medicine to drag him into unconsciousness.

 

"Marco? Marco!" Marco could hear a familiar voice calling out to him as the light returned to his eyes, the haze of sleep slowly fading from his mind. He wasn't sure exactly how long the elixir had put him out, but it felt like it had been quite a while. "It's time to wake up, dear."

Looking around, Marco was rather surprised to find that he was no longer inside the carriage. As he rose slowly to his feet, he found himself in a great stone chamber. In the center, he saw a large fountain flowing with... well, he wasn't quite sure what the strange golden liquid might be, but it certainly wasn't water. For reasons he didn't understand, the entire room was dotted with giant stone carvings of Glossaryck. In a corner of the room, he found a pile of food and other supplies that he recognized as having been loaded on the carriage. Not too far from him, a small table with two simple chairs had been set up, presumably for himself and the Queen. "What the... where the heck ARE we?"

"This is the Sanctuary of Magic. It's a place of safety and security to be used only in times of great crisis. You're the first one outside the royal family and a few retainers to even set eyes on this place in centuries, much less be allowed inside." Moon looked a bit guilty as she began to explain the situation. "I would've told you sooner, but we're breaking a lot of rules here. Glossaryck is the only one who knows where we are right now, and even then, I told him to stay at the castle unless something happens with Star. I couldn't take the slightest risk of anyone finding out."

Marco stumbled over to the nearby table and slid into one of the chairs, slowly shaking off the fog of the elixir from his system. "What do you mean 'allowed'? You're the queen, right? Can't you do whatever you want?"

Moon laughed darkly, taking her own seat across from him. "It's not quite that simple. There are some things even a queen can't control. There are rules and traditions that bind even me. One of them is that only the Butterfly family and their most trusted advisors are even supposed to know about this place. But... desperate times."

"Wow." Marco was a more than a little surprised to learn that he had become the exception to a rule Moon apparently considered so important. "So... we're getting serious here, aren't we?"

"Deadly." Moon gave a worried sigh, beginning to speak slowly and carefully. "I... talked to Glossaryck after Star flew off yesterday. He has concerns that if this continues, Aphrodisia's hold over Star may become... stronger."

"... stronger?" Marco wasn't sure of all the implications, but he definitely didn't like the sound of it.

"Glossaryck says that the desire tends to increase over time, and may lead to her behaving even more aggressively." Moon stopped to reconsider what she was about to say next. She didn't want to give Marco yet another thing to worry about, but she decided he deserved to know the truth. "... not to mention that all these transformations are physically hard on Star. Too many in too short a time can put a serious strain on the body. Even for someone as strong as her."

Marco nodded, not at all pleased with the new information. Star was already aggressive enough in her new Mewberty form, and he certainly didn't look forward to it getting any worse. Not to mention the fact that she might be in danger as well, which only increased his concern for her. "Does Star know any of this?"

Moon shook her head slowly. "No. I thought about telling her, but... I was afraid it would just put more pressure on her."

"... yeah, okay." Marco wasn't entirely happy with keeping anything from Star at a time like this, but as he thought about it, he decided Moon wasn't wrong. If nothing else, they could tell her afterward, once everything was settled.

Moon watched Marco from across the table, trying to get a sense of his current condition. "So. What about you? How are you feeling?"

Marco laughed quietly to himself, leaning his elbows on the table, resting his chin in his hands. "Heh. Well, I think I'm up to five nickels now..."

Moon raised an eyebrow, legitimately confused by the response. "I'm... not sure I follow."

"Nothing. I... guess I'm doing okay." He was still unable to settle on a single answer to the recurring question, but that was as close as he could get to one at the moment. Marco sighed deeply and leaned over, just letting his forehead rest on the table and speaking directly into it. "It could be worse. I mean, I'm not dead, right?"

Moon thought Marco wasn't exactly setting the bar very high, and he didn't sound okay, but she was willing to take what she could get under the circumstances. "Was River able to help you?" Moon had already spoken with her husband about his time with Marco, but she wanted to hear it from the boy directly.

"Yeah, some. We talked about a ton of different stuff while we were out camping." Marco straightened back up, looking at Moon once more. "I feel like things are a little better, but I still have a LOT to figure out about all this."

"Understandable." Moon hesitated briefly, not sure how Marco would react to her next question. "Marco, please don't misunderstand what I'm about to say, but... have you thought about seeing a professional?"

"You mean like a shrink or something?" Marco actually hadn't thought about it. It didn't seem like such a bad idea, but as he considered it further, he found he had some reservations. "Look, Moon-"

"QUEEN Moon." Moon narrowed her eyes at Marco, suddenly taking on her more usual air of authority.

"Uh... Queen Moon." As informal as the Queen had acted up until that point, Marco was quickly reminded that he wasn't talking to River anymore. He paused briefly to observe Moon's reaction, and she seemed satisfied once he corrected himself. "What I'm trying to say is, we don't have magic like this on earth. What would I even tell them? That Star read a chapter in a spellbook, turned into a giant purple bug in and... jumped me? I don't even know if they have insane asylums anymore, but if not they'd probably build one just for me."

"That may be how magic is seen on earth, but not on Mewni." Moon pulled a business card from one of the pockets on her armor, sliding it across the table to Marco. "Here. This is someone who might be able to help."

Marco picked up the card and turned it over in his hands, thinking the name printed on the front sounded familiar. "Brian? Wait, isn't that the name of Tom's life coach?"

Moon nodded, hoping she could convince Marco to seek some expert advice. "He's not just a life coach. I know his methods may seem unorthodox at times, but he's a serious, professional therapist. He knows all about magic, and he specializes in hard cases."

Marco returned his attention to the card, trying to remember exactly how much he knew about Brian. It wasn't a great deal, beyond occasional encounters with him and Tom. "Did you and King River talk to Brian? Or somebody like him?" He wasn't entirely sure of Brian's age, but Marco didn't think he was old enough to have been working when Moon was young.

"No, but I wish we had. River and I hit a rough patch for a while after I read Aphrodisia's chapter. Even though he didn't blame me for anything, it still wasn't easy. We made it through, but... I think we could've saved ourselves a lot of grief." Moon watched as Marco stared at the card, clearly deep in thought. "Just think about it."

Marco thought it over for a moment before giving a single, slow nod, slipping the card into an inside pocket of his hoodie. "Once things have calmed down... I promise I'll talk to Star about it."

"That's all I ask." Relief was clearly visible on the Queen's face. Even if Marco hadn't fully committed to the idea, he at least seemed open to it. "Is there anything else I can help with in the mean time? You can ask whatever you want."

River had managed to clear up several things for him, but there were still some questions Marco thought Queen Moon might be better positioned to answer. "Yeah, so... River said this is all because of Aphrodisia's chapter, right? What is it really?"

Moon had expected the question, but she still found it a little hard to explain to her present audience, considering Marco didn't know very much about magical theory. "The simplest explanation is that it's a chapter full of magic related to love and passion. It's not inherently evil, not like Eclipsa's chapter, but it can have a similar sort of effect on an unprepared mind. And Star... wasn't prepared."

"Heh. Yeah. I don't think either of us were." As Marco had thought over the events of the past few days, a question had arisen in his mind that he couldn't quite shake. "So if she wasn't prepared, why did she read it?" Marco knew Star had once risked Eclipsa's chapter out of curiosity and sheer boredom, and he wondered if the same might be true here.

Moon was actually a little nervous as she considered the question, unsure if she should really share what Star had told her. "Well..." The Queen paused, drumming her fingers on the table, looking as uncomfortable as Marco had ever seen her, unable to even look him in the eye. "... I think it might be best if you ask her that yourself." She didn't want to keep anything from Marco unless she had to, but Moon felt her daughter had told her certain things in confidence.

"Uh... okay." Marco wasn't sure what to make of the response, but the strange way the Queen was acting was enough to keep him from pressing the issue. "So... you said this happened to you when you were younger, right? What did your parents think?" 

"By that time, my parents were already... gone. Because of Toffee." Despite the stoic front, Marco detected a deep sadness underneath the words.

"Oh. Oh wow." Marco felt genuinely guilty for bringing up the topic. Star had never mentioned Moon's parents to him, and now he understood why. "I'm sorry, I had no idea."

"I know. And thank you. It was a difficult time for me, but I wasn't the only one suffering." Moon smiled sadly at Marco, allowing her mask to slip just briefly. Marco was surprised at seeing Moon so... vulnerable. "Everyone lost something to that war. Glossaryck did what he could for me, and so did the surviving Butterflies. But it's hard to find a substitute for good parents."

Even if Marco hadn't always had the closest relationship with his own parents, he still loved them dearly. He could hardly imagine life without them. Marco quickly decided he didn't want to dwell on that thought any longer than absolutely necessary, and pushed it from his mind.

"So at the risk of opening even more old wounds... what does Aphrodisia's magic actually DO? River said it was sort of like Mewberty?" Marco was sure it would be a difficult discussion for Moon, but she did say he could ask anything, and she didn't seem to have any problem refusing to answer if she didn't want to. "What happened to you back then?" 

"There's a great deal of magic in Aphrodisia's chapter, not ALL of it harmful. The curse you're talking about... the details are rather complicated, but it's a bit like Eclipsa's chapter in how the magic influences the reader. It amplifies desire to extreme levels and triggers a variant of Mewberty, along with a complete loss of control and memory while transformed. When it happened to me..." Moon had predicted that the question about her own exposure to Aphrodisia's magic would come sooner or later, but it didn't make the memories any easier.

Marco both noticed and understood the Queen's hesitation. Even if she had allowed him to ask, he didn't want to push her into anything too personal or painful. "If you don't want to talk about it..."

"No. You need to know. All of it." The Queen took a deep breath, thinking back to her own experience with Aphrodisia's chapter. "Star isn't even aware of what she's doing. She'll remember eventually, but she doesn't right now." Marco had been aware that Star's memory of her time transformed was missing, but he was a bit surprised to learn that it might return at some point. "It's horrifying. Like a nightmare that won't end, or being trapped in your own body. So much guilt and shame... Having no control over yourself, no memory of what you've done, no idea if this will be the last time. And when you do finally start to remember, it's almost worse, knowing just how much you hurt someone you care about. Not knowing whether anything will ever be normal again."

Moon stared downward into the table between them, looking lost in her own thoughts for what felt like forever. Marco wasn't sure if he should try to snap her out of it. Just as he was about to say something, she looked back up to him and spoke. "I don't mean to minimize what you've been through yourself. Not in the slightest. But it's not easy being on the other side of things, either." Moon shuddered, clearly speaking out of her own experience. "The worst part is the fear of what the other might think of you. I think... I think that's what worries Star the most. She thinks the world of you, Marco. And she's terrified that you might start to believe she's a monster or a devil..."

"Queen Moon... I don't understand everything about what Aphrodisia's magic did to her, but Star's no devil." Marco looked almost offended by Moon's suggestion, but perked up and smiled warmly with his next words. "She's my best friend."

Moon returned his smile in kind, looking surprisingly pleased with Marco's proclamation. "I'm sure she is."

Marco found nothing but sincerity in Moon's words, yet he felt like she wasn't telling him everything she knew. He was aware Star had told her mother that they were dating, but he wasn't entirely certain whether it was as safe a topic for discussion with Moon as it had been with River. "... but?"

"Marco, it's alright. Star already told me that you've been seeing each other." The Queen sounded almost... amused. "Though to be honest, I had my suspicions. It certainly explains why she's been sneaking out at night." Moon rolled her eyes in mild annoyance.

Marco was relieved that the Queen didn't seem to have a problem with them dating, though he was a little embarrassed that Moon had caught them visiting each other behind her back. "Oh... you knew about that."

"Well." Moon flashed a wicked smile, of a kind Marco hadn't ever expected to see on her. "I do now." 

"Hubba-wha." Marco gulped, looking like a deer caught in headlights as he realized he'd fallen right into Moon's trap.

Moon looked just a little bit sympathetic toward Marco. Her own youth hadn't been so different in that regard, and her family had been far less enthusiastic about her relationship with one of their rivals. Not to mention that the same trick had worked on her once during her early relationship with River. "If it makes you feel any better, I probably wouldn't have believed you if you'd tried to deny it."

"Honestly? It totally does." Marco shrugged and smiled, figuring the Queen would have probably found out sooner or later regardless.

"I'd rather you two had said something sooner, but it's not exactly the first secret she's kept from me. Still... she never tried to hide anything when she was with Tom." Marco detected something unfamiliar behind Moon's words. He decided not to respond yet, sensing she had more to say. "Marco, I need to ask you a rather sensitive question. I haven't talked to Star about this, and I won't force you to answer if you're not comfortable with it, but... was Star afraid I wouldn't approve?"

"... do you?" Considering Moon's reaction so far, he was fairly sure she did, but under the circumstances he wanted to be absolutely certain.

"That's not the reason I've been keeping you apart, if that's what you're asking. I'm trying to minimize the temptation from Aphrodisia's magic, that's all. Present circumstances aside, I have no objection to you spending time with my daughter." Marco was quite happy to hear it, and figured that was high praise coming from the reserved Moon.

Moon let the silence hang in the air, which Marco took to be her waiting for an answer to her previous question. "... she wasn't worried you'd try to split us up, or at least she never said anything like that to me. We just weren't really sure how to tell you. I swear we were planning to, but we didn't get the chance before... all this. We wanted to start with my parents and see how it went." Moon gestured for the boy to continue. "Then... I was thinking maybe we'd try King River next, at least if he promised to act surprised when we told the two of you together..."

"Hah!" The Queen shook her head, an amused smile on her face. "River isn't nearly as good at keeping secrets as he thinks he is." Moon muttered something just barely loud enough for Marco to hear. "Must run in the family..."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Marco raised an eyebrow, not sure if he'd heard right, and even if he had, what it had to do with anything.

"Hm." Moon leaned over the table, resting her elbows on it and tenting her hands together, now with a more familiar expression of cold judgment as she stared daggers into Marco's very soul. "What's all this about Star... taking her clothes off for you?"

Marco immediately saw his life flashing before his eyes. It had happened to him so many times in the past few days that he was starting to see repeats. He swallowed hard, not exactly sure how much Moon knew. He was determined not repeat his earlier mistake by tipping his hand, but what could he say? If Moon really did know something, he was sure he'd be in even more trouble if he lied. The whole thing had been a hard sell with his own parents, and the Queen was far sharper and less forgiving than they were. Not to mention his previous promise to be absolutely honest with her, no matter what. After a long, tense silence, Marco finally started to speak. "... so here's the thing about that."

Moon let out a frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose and tilting her head up, leaning back in her seat as she felt her earlier headache returning with a vengeance. "Was it above the waist?"

As scared as Marco had been of River at first, Moon terrified him a thousand times more. River would have at least made it a quick death. He suspected Moon would make him suffer. Still, realizing he didn't really have any way out, Marco nodded slowly, which Moon caught out of the corner of her eye.

The Queen slammed her hands flat on the table, leaning over it as far as she could, now just inches from Marco's face, close enough that he could feel her breath as she narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth. "Keep it that way."

As she backed off slowly, Marco just felt lucky to be alive. He thought his best chance of continued survival would be to get on another topic as soon as possible. "Heh... so... in the spirit of everybody keeping their clothes on, what do we do if Star finds me here?"

"More like when. Sooner or later, she'll find you. What I'm hoping is that we can keep her out. The Sanctuary is well protected and sealed under a lake. Even if Star tracks you here, she doesn't know how to open it." Moon rose from her seat, surveying the walls of the Sanctuary. "This place has survived wars, monster raids, magical disasters, and far more besides. The whole structure is warded against magic and heavily fortified against physical attack, and there's a small Tramorfidian crystal to keep out dimensional rifts from scissors. And if all that fails..." Moon clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "I won't."

"What do you mean by- wait..." Marco suddenly realized why Moon had come in full battle dress, and what she was planning to do. Marco sprung to his feet, hoping he was wrong in his suspicions. "Are you... are you serious? You'd fight your own daughter just to keep me safe?"

Moon laughed darkly, reaching a hand out to rest on Marco's shoulder. "Marco. I've spent the better part of fourteen years fighting my daughter to keep everyone safe."

"Yeah, but like... metaphorically, right?" Marco was starting to get a little worried about Moon's strategy, not at all liking where it was going. "This would be, you know, actually FIGHTING her."

"I know. But all I have to do is keep her away from you until the Aphrodisia's magic subsides." Moon let out a resigned sigh, clearly unhappy with her own plan. "Believe me, I don't like this any more than you do. But we're running out of options."

The two stood in foreboding silence, unsure what more they could say to each other. Marco could understand what the Queen was trying to accomplish, but it just didn't sit right with him. Although it made practical sense, he couldn't stand the thought of Star suffering for his sake. "Queen Moon. I need you to promise me something..." He took a deep breath, hoping the choice he was about to make was the right one. "No matter what happens to me, don't do anything to Star. I'll... I'll be okay. I survived this long, right? So just... please, don't fight her. Don't let her get hurt because of me."

The Queen was nearly overwhelmed by his sacrificial offer. Even if it wasn't much of a plan, Moon couldn't help but be moved by how far Marco was willing to go in protecting her daughter. "Marco... you dear, sweet boy." Moon leaned down, pulling him into a motherly hug. "I'm sorry, but I can't promise you that."

As if Marco hadn't been surprised enough by a hug from the Queen, he was even more shocked to hear her refuse his request. "Wh- what? Why?"

"Because." Moon pulled back slightly, a bittersweet smile on her face as she spoke. "I already promised Star I would protect you."

Marco blinked in surprise. Even though the thought of seeing Star hurt made him sick, he was touched that she had been equally willing to risk herself for his safety. He gave a defeated sigh, nodding. If Moon had made a promise to protect him, he wouldn't ask her to break it. He resigned himself to Moon's plan, not feeling he had much of a choice, but he still couldn't let go of his concern for Star. "... you're sure she'll be alright?"

"Don't worry. I would never do anything that would cause serious damage. I love her too, you know." Moon gave Marco a comforting smile as she rose back up. Marco started to look a little nervous, and Moon reconsidered her choice of words. "Well, you know what I mean. I know you care about her."

"Yeah." Marco smiled warmly to the Queen, but backed up once he fully realized what Moon had said. He couldn't ever remember the Queen saying that she loved her daughter. He had no doubt that it was true, but he'd never heard it out loud. "Queen Moon, don't take this the wrong way, but since this whole thing started, you seem kinda... different. Less... Queen-ish?" Marco couldn't exactly find the right words, but he hoped he'd gotten his point across.

"Yes, well... it's not easy being both a leader and a mother. I know that I can sometimes seem... distant. Especially with Star. But I really am proud of her, and I do love her. And... maybe I should say that to her more often." Moon had a far away look in her eyes as she spoke, but she quickly snapped back to reality. "But enough about that. I think it's time for me to show you where you'll be staying." The Queen walked over to one of the nearby Glossaryck statues and gripped the nose, pulling down a camouflaged lever hidden within. A nearby wall slid open, revealing a staircase spiraling downward, deeper into the Sanctuary. "This way."

The false wall closed behind them as they descended. At the bottom of the staircase laid a short hallway leading to a large metal door. Moon pulled a small key from a pocket in her armor, turning it in the lock. As heavy as it was, the door swung open smoothly, but slowly. It might not have looked as strong as modern earth construction, but Marco thought the door was probably enough to stop anything short of a cannonball.

"Welcome to the vault. I had it redecorated just for the occasion." She reached out and took Marco's hand, turning over the vault key to him. "For the time being, this is yours."

Stepping inside, Marco surveyed a small, sparsely furnished room with a wardrobe, a few wall torches, a pack full of food in the corner, and a lone, oddly familiar bed. It had obviously been cleaned since his last encounter with it, but despite that, he was able to place it fairly quickly. "... is that the bed from the Forest of Inevitable Relaxation?"

Moon let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head in frustration. "My husband insisted."

"How did that even GET here?" Marco assumed it had been set up while he was sleeping, but considering it was much too large to have been on the carriage without him noticing, he had no idea HOW.

"Sparkle Glitter Bomb Expand." Moon stated plainly. She heard no response from Marco, but caught his surprised expression out of the corner of her eye. "What? You thought Star invented ALL her own spells?" Moon snapped her fingers, setting off a small spark of magical energy, looking rather proud of herself. "This old gal has a few tricks up her sleeve." Moon quickly cleared her throat, resuming her serious posture. "I know it's not much, but we shouldn't need to be here for more than a day or two. Still, I brought plenty of supplies, just in case."

Marco didn't really mind the simple accommodations, especially for such a short time, and he felt it would definitely be worth it to end all this. Still, he couldn't help but notice there was only a single bed. "What about you? Do you have a place to sleep?"

"Don't worry about me, I'll manage. I have a bed roll upstairs." They weren't exactly the most pleasant conditions Moon had ever slept in, but compared to some of River's "family vacations", they were far from the worst.

Marco felt a little guilty about the Queen sleeping on a bed roll while he had an actual bed, but she didn't seem especially bothered by the prospect. Plus he figured it was her choice, since she was the one who set up the sleeping arrangements in the first place. "So what do we do until... whenever?"

Moon gave Marco a small shrug. "Well, that's mainly up to you. You're certainly welcome to rest if you feel the need."

Though Marco still felt physically drained, he was started to get tired of all the resting he had been doing lately. "Thanks, but no. I feel like I should be doing SOMETHING." Marco dragged his hands down his face, frustrated. "Uggggggggh, I dunno... I hate just waiting here for something to happen."

"I thought you might." Moon felt the same way, but she knew there wasn't much else to do for the time being. Still, she thought she might at least be able to help Marco take his mind off things. "In that case, would you like to learn some meditation techniques? They can help focus the mind during times of stress and conflict, internal or external. Some of the stretching might help your soreness, too."

"Huh... I guess that sounds alright." Given the amount of stress and conflict he had endured over the past few days, Marco thought he wouldn't mind having a better way to deal with them. And if nothing else, it would give him something to do while they waited. "Now that you mention it, I could probably use something to help clear my head."

"Well then, let's get to work." Moon pulled a nearby lever and reopened the stairway, leading Marco back up the stairs to the main room of the sanctuary.

The Queen pulled a large mat from a supply bag in the corner and laid it out on the ground, motioning for Marco to sit with her as she settled into a meditative posture. Marco joined her, copying the pose as best he could and waiting for her instructions. "We're going to start with some basic deep breathing. Now, close your eyes. Relax, and let the air fill your lungs." Moon sucked in a breath, holding it for a moment. "Then let it out, clearing your mind of all thoughts..."

Marco tried to follow along with Moon. He sat with the Queen, repeating as she did, gradually beginning to banish his worries from his mind. As Marco continued the exercise, he felt his conscious mind slowly slipping away. Marco's awareness of the world started to fade as he settled in for a long few days at the Sanctuary of Magic.  



	7. Waning Moon

"... alright. Let's try the next technique. I think this will be the last one for the evening."

With no clocks or natural light in the Sanctuary, Marco had no idea how Moon could tell it was evening, although he decided to take her word for it. Marco had been meditating with Moon almost since they'd arrived, and he'd become so focused on it that he had completely lost track of time. Now, after a food break and several changes in method, Marco felt like he was starting to get the hang of things.

For her part, Moon seemed to find it effortless. She had actually been quite relieved to get an opportunity to center herself after the last few hectic days. "Now, Marco... feel the blood moving through your body. Listen the beat of your heart."

As Marco focused on the sound, he noticed it seemed to be getting louder. Substantially louder. He felt no different, but he was starting to become concerned as the noise was quickly reaching a volume that shouldn't have been possible. "Uh... Queen Moon? Is it possible to listen too hard?" As Marco opened one eye, he saw that Moon was already standing at full awareness, looking up at the ceiling, toward the true source of the vibrations. "Hubba-wha?" The quaking slowly intensified, and the entire structure shook as something rammed rhythmically against it, the walls rattling with the force.

"Get to the vault and lock the door. Now." Moon didn't even look at Marco, taking up a battle stance and not bothering with any further explanation.

Not that Marco needed it. He had already realized what was happening. Star was here. He got up and dashed toward the stairs, pulling the hidden lever, heading for the vault and preparing to seal himself inside.

Moon, meanwhile, was busy trying to analyze Star's plan of attack. It was difficult to tell from where she stood, but she thought Star was most likely trying to focus on a single point to create a breach. It didn't take long to confirm her suspicions. As a small crack started to form in the ceiling, water began to leak through from the lake above. Moon raised her hands, reinforcing the area with her magic and halting the flow of liquid.

After a few more impacts, the sound ceased. Despite a brief glimmer of optimism, the Queen was sure it wouldn't be that easy.

Pausing for a brief respite, Star soon began ramming the sanctuary again. Moon figured her magic would be enough to bolster the specific point Star had been attacking, but she soon noticed a new crack forming in a different location.

Moon strengthened that point of the ceiling as well, but she quickly realized Star would win the war of attrition. With the weight of the lake bearing down on the sanctuary, Moon knew she couldn't keep up with many more breaches for very long.

As Star halted her attack once more to find another angle of approach, Moon released her magical hold on the cracks. She dashed over to a nearby wall, pulling a lever. The Sanctuary began to shudder, this time less violently, and with a low rumble it began its slow ascent back toward the surface. It would take some time, but at the rate it was rising, Moon knew she didn't have to worry about flooding. She only had to worry about Star.

With that, she turned her eyes back toward the ceiling. It didn't take Star long to figure out that Moon's protective magic had fallen, and with a final strike at one of the fresh cracks, she broke through into the sanctuary. Scanning the room with her blank eyes, Star ignored Moon entirely. She was soon eyeing the wall concealing the vault, seeming to know exactly where she was going as she hovered toward it.

Moon took a deep breath, knowing she had no choice in what she was about to do. She fired a warning shot of magical energy at Star's feet. Moon interposed herself between her daughter and false wall. "That's far enough. I don't want to do this, Star, but I made a promise. No matter what happens, I'm going to protect Marco. Even from you." Moon vainly hoped she might somehow get through to her daughter, but deep down, she knew it was a lost cause. As Star continued her approach, Moon lept into the air and spread her wings, taking on her own empowered Butterfly form. 

Even in her current mental state, Star seemed to know she was being threatened. Star assumed a combat stance, apparently trying to intimidate her opponent, but Moon held her ground. Star held out her hand, firing a web of sticky purple hearts at her mother. Moon easily dodged to the side, having known from her own experience more or less what to expect from the fight. Star lunged at her mother, but Moon parried the attack as Star flew past, firing a blast of magic at the Princess, just strong enough to keep her attention.

As Star charged at her mother, Moon evaded with an unearthly grace forged from years of experience and practice. Though her movements were far more efficient than Star's wild flailing, the Queen was sure that she would tire before her daughter. As Moon knew well from her own experience with Aphrodisia's magic, Star's current form granted her a level of strength and stamina well beyond her already impressive natural capacity.

Moon could already tell that her odds of success would drop the longer the battle dragged out. Though she was fighting fit for the moment, she knew it was only a matter of time. She had no shortage ways to end the fight, but nearly all of them involved lethal force, or at least carried the risk of permanent injury to her daughter. The Queen had been racking her brain since she left the castle trying to think of another option. There were very few tactics that were both decisive and safe for Star, but she had managed to come up with something. Despite the risk in prolonging the fight, she had to bide her time and wait for Star to slip up.

Like a magical matador, Moon allowed her daughter to continue charging, and she deftly evaded each time, dodging every strike and sticky heart blast Star sent her way. As Star continuously failed to land any blows, she appeared to become more agitated, and more aggressive. Before long, Moon could tell that her daughter had lost patience. Star drew back slowly to give herself space, beginning a running charge before leaping through the air, barrelling full speed toward the Queen.

In that moment, the Queen finally saw her opening. Star had overcommitted herself, and Moon knew she wouldn't be able to respond to a counterattack in time. She lept into the air, insantly spinning to face Star. "Astral Chain!" As Moon raised her hands, ethereal chains sprouted from the stone walls of the sanctuary, homing in Star's wrists and ankles at Moon's mental command. Twisting in the air, Star managed to dodge for several seconds, but Moon had already anticipated her daughter's evasive tactics. Moon commanded the movements of the chains, with two of them being used to herd Star toward the ground, where she would have less mobility. Driving the third chain toward Star's face as a distraction, she snuck the final restaint around back to wrap tightly around one of Star's ankles. Star noticed Moon's plan too late, and found herself trapped. With her movements now restricted, it didn't take long for Moon to get the rest of the chains around her remaining limbs. Though Star tried to resist, the chains ratcheted back with each slip, pulling her closer toward the wall until she was firmly against it.

Moon approached slowly, trying to calm her agitated daughter. "Shh, shhhh... darling, it's alright. I'm just going to make you sleep for a little while. It won't hurt a bit. And when you wake up, this will all be over." Star's struggle against her restraints gradually ceased as she seemed to accept her fate, and the Queen began to cast her next spell. "Sand of Dreams..." Standing just in front of Star, Moon opened her gloved palm, now containing a handful of sand, glowing white with the power of her magic.

Star seemed to have some idea that the sand represented a threat, even if it wasn't clear that she knew its exact nature. She began another attempt to break free, straining against the chains, but the magical restraints appeared to be holding fast. The Queen ignored her struggle and softly drew in a breath, about to blow the sand in Star's direction. Raising her hand near her mouth, she suddenly heard an odd creaking sound. As she lowered her palm and looked around for the source of the noise, her eyes widened as she saw the chain holding Star's right wrist beginning to pull out of the wall. "No... that can't be." Getting the Astral Chain in place was the hard part, but once anchored and secured, it was unbreakable as far as the Queen knew. And yet...

Moon had no time to consider the mystery any further. The distraction had only been momentary, but it was all Star needed. With a sudden burst of strength, she jerked the chain away from the wall, gaining some slack in the length. Though it didn't break, she had enough freedom of movement to swing her arm down and back around, striking Moon's palm from below and sending the magical sedative directly toward the Queen's face. Moon instantly snapped out of her trance, twisting to the side and willing the chains to tighten again, but it was too late. She drew in a surprised breath just as most of the magic sand hit her directly in the face.

Moon jerked a hand up to cover her breathing, backing away and falling to her knees. She hadn't been hit with enough of the sand to go under instantly, but she almost immediately felt most of the fight go out of her. She no longer had the power to hold her transformation, and involuntarily shifted back to her usual Mewman form. No longer sustained by Moon's magic, the chains binding Star quickly dissolved into nothingness.

Now free from her confinement, Star loomed over her mother, but did not administer the finishing blow. Instead, she turned her attention back toward the wall concealing the staircase to the vault. In a few strikes, she shattered the wall and floated down the spiral stairs.

As Moon tried to gather herself, she found she could rise to her feet, but not much more than that. She could already hear her daughter banging against the vault door. After seeing Star in action, Moon was no longer entirely confident that it would hold. As she was trying to decide whether to follow Star for one last ditch effort to stop her, she heard a strange sound that she thought was metal scraping against metal, followed by a massive THUD echoing through the entire Sanctuary. It took her a moment to realize the only thing that could have made such a sound, although she could hardly believe it. If she was right, Star had simply ripped the reinforced metal vault door right off its hinges and tossed it aside. Her suspicions of the vault being breached were confirmed by a scream from Marco, followed by what she believed to be a plea for mercy from some sort of human deity.

At that point, Moon reluctantly reached the conclusion that staying wouldn't serve any purpose. It would take hours for her to fully recover from the effects of her own sleep magic. Star hadn't showed any sign of slowing down, and the Queen felt she had almost nothing left in her. Having been so determined to succeed, she hadn't had much of a plan B, or at least not an immediate one. She cupped her hands and shouted toward the staircase. "Marco! I'm sorry!" Moon had no desire to have insult added to injury by staying to hear her daughter's... activities. She evacuated the Sanctuary as quickly as she was able, deciding she could sleep in the carriage and return inside for supplies in the morning.

 

Making her way to the carriage that had been parked outside, Moon heard a rustling in the bushes. This far out from civilization, she guessed that who or whatever it was probably wasn't friendly. Though she was drained from her fight with Star and her own sleep magic, if anything in the wilderness meant her harm, she was determined not to go down without a fight. As she heard the movement again, she looked toward it and found a pair of eyes staring at her from the foliage. She wasn't looking forward to a battle in her weakened state, but she took up a combat stance all the same. If she was lucky, she thought she might be able to scare her stalker into retreat or surrender. "Come out now, if you know what's good for you!"

A short, stocky figure stepped forward from the leaves, clad only in a loincloth and a crown. The man looked almost embarrassed at having been caught, and he addressed the Queen in a hesitant tone. "... hello, Moon Pie."

"... River?" Moon lowered her guard as her husband emerged from the forest. The King was quite possibly the last person she had expected to see at the Sanctuary, especially considering he wasn't supposed to know she was there. "What are you... did you follow Star out here?"

"Er... no. Not exactly." River looked a bit nervous, like he was afraid of explaining himself. "It's just, I thought I could be at large just as well without being cooped up in the castle, so... I actually followed YOU out here."

It didn't take the Queen long to realize why. "You didn't think this would work either. You didn't think I could do it." As Moon thought about it, she realized his assumption had been right. "Of course you didn't. That's why you made me bring that bed..."

"Moon, please..." River slowly walked over to his wife's side, taking one hand in both of his. "If anybody could find a way break Aphrodisia's spell, it's you. But... you know even better than I do what it's like."

Moon jerked away, turning her back on River and hiding her face in shame and anger at her own failure. "I PROMISED her! My own daughter! I gave her my word that nothing would happen to him..."

"You did everything you could. She'll understand. They both will. There are some things even a Queen can't control." River reached up and rested a hand on her shoulder from behind, doing his best to offer his wife some comfort. "But I know they'll be alright."

Moon barely turned her head back toward the King, watching him out of the corner of her eye. "How can you be so sure?" 

"Because." River smiled softly, looking back at his wife with a gaze full of encouragement. "They're just like we were."

Moon now turned fully back toward River, returning his smile. She leaned down to embrace her husband, grateful for his support through all the chaos of the past few days. "Thank you, River."

"Of course, dear." River wrapped his arms around her briefly before they both pulled away. River then pointed in the direction of the bushes he had just left. "Now then! I found a clearing not too far from here and set up camp. I already have a Southern Murder Boar on the fire, and a bedroll fit for two! You, ah... look like you could use some sleep."

Moon rubbed her tired eyes, laughing darkly as she followed River to his campsite, thinking she might end up skipping dinner and heading straight for the sleeping bag. "River, dear... you have NO idea."

 

The next morning, Moon returned to the Sanctuary with River to inspect the damage, both to the structure and to its occupants. As promised, Glossaryck had been waiting outside when they arrived, and he joined the royal couple as they headed in. On the way to the vault, Moon stopped to grab a bag full of clothes and other supplies from the stash she had brought, with River having brought a bag of his own with him from the castle. The trio carefully made their way down to the vault, finding that the door had indeed been ripped away from its hinges as Moon had suspected.

Inside, they found more or less what they expected. Ruined clothes were strewn about the floor, and the whole place generally looked like it had been destroyed by a raiding party. Marco was lying in bed and staring wide eyed at the opposite wall, still shellshocked from the previous night, appearing to have gotten little or no sleep. He remained motionless and stone silent, not even reacting as they entered, almost as though he was asleep with his eyes open.

Star was curled up peacefully next to him, smiling in her sleep, appearing as if she was having a pleasant dream. The sound of the King and Queen's footsteps echoing through the doorway was enough to rouse her from her slumber. The sounds from her parents got her attention, and she turned slowly toward them, trying to speak through a yawn as she awoke. "Mom? Dad?" As Star regained her awareness, she quickly began to realize the situation she was most likely in. She cringed silently, hoping she was wrong about the warmth she felt under the covers next to her. Star shut her eyes tight before turning to her other side, slowly opening one to find an obviously traumatized Marco. "Uh-oh."

"You know Star, if you keep breaking your toys like this, your mother and I aren't going to get you any new ones." Though Marco remained frozen, the King, Queen, and Princess all turned and stared daggers at Glossaryck, who simply floated there like nothing had happened. "So can we try my idea now or what?"

"Glossaryck... a word." Moon decided to take the situation in hand before anyone else could start asking questions. She started to head up the stairs with Glossaryck, looking back to the her husband on her way out. "River, I'll meet you at the carriage in a bit. Until then..."

River held up a hand in front of him, already knowing what his wife was thinking. "Say no more. I'll take care of things here. Starting with getting these two dressed." River set his bag down on the floor, reaching into it and pulling out Marco's loincloth, along with Star's own wilderness attire.

Moon noticed Marco's eyes dart toward the loincloth as River removed it from the bag, but he showed no further reaction. Well, at least he wasn't actually dead, Moon thought. "Once again... close enough." Moon grumbled quietly, but considering the conversation she was about to have, she was in no mood to start a war on yet another front. Besdies, she figured that Star and Marco would get into proper clothes on their own soon enough.

The Queen returned to leading Glossaryck up the stairs and out of the Sanctuary entirely, not straying too far from the structure, but far enough that she was certain they wouldn't be heard or disturbed. As soon as she felt they had found a suitable spot, Moon dropped all pretense of regality. Glossaryck knew that look. He was in for an extremely... spirited discussion.

"I'm going to speak freely. What you proposed to me when this all started barely qualifies as a plan." The ranks had already been fully dropped, and Moon's entire bearing had changed.

"You know, I'm getting the strangest sense of deja vu here..." Glossaryck, meanwhile, felt quite comfortable carrying on as usual.

Moon thought might she end up actually strangling Glossaryck if he didn't start taking this seriously, but she held herself back and spoke through her clenched teeth. "There are still other alternatives for dealing with Aprodisia's magic..."

"Oh? And how have your alternatives been working out so far?" Glossaryck didn't bother to wait for a response. "Besides, what have you got to lose? Even if it fails, it's not like it would be any worse than any other failed plan."

"It isn't going to work!" Moon was absolutely convinced of that much. She could hardly even believe Glossaryck's proposal was serious. Knowing him, it might not have been.

"All I'm asking for is a chance. If I'm wrong about this, we'll go back to doing whatever you want." Glossaryck could sense Moon's growing frustration, and though he understood her concerns, he didn't expect Moon's future plans would go any better. "I was able to help back when it happened to you, wasn't I? Let me help your daughter-"

"Yes, MY daughter!" Moon had finally had enough, and she was on the brink of completely losing her composure. "Not to mention poor Marco! You're talking about the fate of my CHILD-"

"And MY student! This isn't just your problem, Moon! You aren't the only one who's worried about them! So swallow your damned pride, take your hands away from the reigns, and for once in your life, accept that someone else might know better!" Glossaryck floated quietly for several seconds, watching Moon's shocked expression, waiting for a response that never came. "Oh, were we not speaking freely?"

Moon stood in stunned silence at Glossaryck's outburst. She was used to his dry and caustic wit, but it was rare to see him truly lose his temper. She turned away from him, considering what he had said as the fire slowly drained from her veins. Though she hated to admit it, she realized he had a point. Despite that, she wasn't sure Glossaryck was up to the task. There was a certain perspective that he lacked. Moon took some time to collect herself before turning back toward him, finally asking the one question in all the universe she believed Glossaryck couldn't answer. "What do you know about love?"

"Me? Oh, nothing much." Glossaryck rolled his eyes at Moon. "I've only spent the last few thousand years as a teacher for young ladies on the cusp of adulthood, experiencing stirrings in the depths of their hearts and loins for the very first time."

"Glossaryck..." Though she had calmed a bit, Glossaryck was still on her last nerve. His rather blunt criticism hadn't made things any better, even if she found some truth in it, but the Queen held herself in check. She glared coldly at him, waiting impatiently for a serious answer.

"What do I know about love? Well... where do I start." Glossaryck closed his eyes, lost in thought, searching through millenia worth of memories. "I've seen a thousand weddings and all the joy that comes with them. I've watched Kings take arrows meant for their Queens, and just as often, the other way around. I saw Eclipsa walk away from her throne, knowing that it could bring down an entire kingdom. And I saw you defy the entire royal family and stand against centuries of political rivalry, all so you could be with one man. Shall I go on?" Glossaryck opened his eyes again, a bit surprised to find Moon with an almost pitying expression on her face.

Moon knew Glossaryck wasn't entirely wrong in what he said, but she felt he still didn't understand the problem. "All that may be true. But have you ever felt love? Have you ever BEEN in love? Have you ever kissed or made love? Have you ever had a true equal? A partner? Have you ever known beyond a shadow of a doubt that you would spend the rest of your life with one person, forsaking all others, and be buried side by side, together even in death? Do you have any true understanding of the feelings that made me fight so hard to marry River?" Moon didn't even wait for Glossaryck to respond, already knowing the answer to each and every question. In a way, she felt sorry for him, knowing that he could never have that experience. "As you were always so fond of reminding me, you don't have feelings."

Glossaryck nodded slowly, willing to concede the point. "You're right."

"Deny it all you like, but-" Moon stopped dead, blinking in surprise as Glossaryck's admission finally registered in her brain. "I'm... what? Did you just learn that phrase?"

"HOWEVER!" Glossaryck barely missed a beat, choosing not to dignify Moon with a response. "This isn't just about mortal emotions, or I wouldn't be volunteering for the job. And besides, I know my history. I've been around long enough to notice the patterns. I've helped a lot of Princesses through a lot of magical problems over the years, including your daughter. Trust me, I can help her with this one too." He was sympathetic toward Moon's concerns, but somewhat resented her lack of confidence in his abilities after so many years. "And yes... I'll admit that this is a rather unconventional method. That's because Star is a rather unconventional Princess. But then again..." Glossaryck laughed quietly to himself. "Well, she has a lot in common with one in particular."

Moon sighed softly, giving Glossaryck a knowing smile. "More than I care to admit. But even so... this is NOTHING like how you helped me deal with Aphrodisia's chapter."

"Look... Moon. I understand what you've been trying to do these past few days. And I won't tell you how to raise your daughter. But the fact that it she IS your daughter, and that you've been in her shoes before..." Glossaryck tried to choose his next words carefully, aware that he was treading dangerously close to territory outside his domain. "In my professional opinion as her magic teacher, that's making you come at this from the wrong angle. I believe your perspective is... skewed.

"And yours isn't?" Moon knew she had her biases, but despite his supposed neutrality, she wasn't convinced Glossaryck was any better positioned to solve the problem. "How much can you really see from a mile up, detached from everything you claim to know?"

"I have a closer view than you might think. I've been watching those two together since Star first went to Earth. How much do you really know about how Star and Marco treat each other, especially recently?" Glossaryck didn't wait for an answer. "When they're around you, they're on their best behavior. But I've seen them from inside the Book. I know what they're like when they think no one is watching." Glossaryck gave Moon a devious smile. "And I know exactly how to handle this."

Moon had no arguments left to make, and nothing more to lose. She still wasn't entirely confident in completely turning the matter over to Glossaryck, but he seemed to be aware of his own limitations. Besides, at that point, she was forced to admit had no better ideas. With a deep sigh and great reluctance, she finally reached a decision that she hoped she wouldn't regret in the morning. "This had better work."

Glossaryck laughed mischievously, rubbing his hands together with glee, both relieved and delighted that he finally been given the blessing to proceed with his plan. "Not to worry, my Queen. All those two need is a little nudge in the right direction..."


	8. Everything Nice

Star and Marco had both slept through most of the return trip from the Sanctuary. This time around, Marco didn't even need any elixir. He was so exhausted he had simply fallen asleep in his seat in the carriage opposite from Star, not even being able to stay awake long enough for a conversation. By the time Marco woke up, Star had already left the carriage and vanished to somewhere inside the castle.  
  
The trip back had taken a good part of the day, and when they finally reached the castle, it was getting close to dinner time. As soon as Marco awoke, he'd been called into the situation room for a private meeting with Glossaryck, who had laid out his own plan to put an end to Star's transformations.  
  
It hadn't taken nearly as long as Marco has expected.  
  
Now he and Glossaryck were making their way through the castle, soon arriving just outside Star's room. Before entering, Marco decided he should try to get clarification on what Glossaryck had told him, just in case he had missed something. He sincerely hoped that he had. "So... let me make sure I understand this. If I have it right, your plan, with the disturbingly ironic title of Operation Lovebug..."  
  
"Nailed it on the name, right?" Glossaryck smiled with pride, holding his hand up in an OK sign.  
  
"Your plan, in its ENTIRETY..." Marco ignored the probably rhetorical question. "... is to put me and Star in a room together and hope we can figure it out."  
  
"Well, perhaps it APPEARS that way, to your naive mind and untrained eye. But that's only the tip of a very large iceberg." Marco could already tell Glossaryck was building up to a full dramatic speech. "Laying out the details of this strategy in a way you could understand would take days, WEEKS even. The sheer intricacy of this scheme would shatter your fragile mind beyond repair and force you to reject everything you now believe to be true. Why, even the barest hint-"  
  
"OKAY! I get the point." Marco pinched the bridge of his nose, idly wondering what proportion of headaches in the castle were Glossaryck induced. "Is this really happening or am I just hallucating from too much elixir?  
  
"Maybe. How many fingers am I holding up?" Glossaryck lifted up one of his hands, raising three fingers... then two more, then lowering one, continually shifting them before Marco could respond.  
  
Marco was reaching the limits of his patience for Glossaryck's games, growling angrily. "How many fingers do you think I'm about to hold up?"  
  
"Woa-ho-ho! Easy there, killer." To Marco's surprise, Glossaryck actually seemed to be backing down, holding his hands up defensively. "But it's a good thing you still have some fight left in you after all this. You might need it."  
  
Marco sighed dejectedly. He wasn't sure how much fight he actually he left at this point, and he really hoped he wouldn't have a reason to need it. "That doesn't exactly inspire confidence."  
  
Glossaryck gave Marco a broad, self-assured grin. "Marco my boy, have I ever steered you wrong?"  
  
Marco said nothing, and instead simply stared back at Glossaryck with the most incredulous expression he could muster.  
  
Glossaryck quickly dropped his smile. He gazed back at Marco for a moment before tenting his index fingers together in front of his face, finding himself in an impromptu staring contest with the boy. "Allow me to rephrase the question. You can just trust me on this one, or... you can take your chances with another round of the snuggle struggle." Glossaryck waited for a response, but Marco remained silent. "Well?"  
  
Marco felt he was up to the challenge, glaring right back at Glossaryck, his expression unmoving. "... I'm thinking."  
  
"Well." Glossaryck grinned back at Marco, choosing not to back down this time. "Don't hurt yourself."  
  
"Fine, whatever! Not like I have any better ideas." Marco threw his hands in the air in sheer frustration, finally giving up on the staring contest with a resigned sigh. "Let's just get this over with..."  
  
"That's the spirit!" Glossaryck shot Marco an overly enthusiastic thumbs up. "Oh, one more thing. I thought you two might get hungry in there, so... I got you takeout!" Glossaryck clapped his hands together, then slowly spread them apart, a large plastic bag appearing in a sparkle of magic and hovering in the air.  
  
Marco carefully took the bag, examining it skeptically. There was a name printed on the front: The Fat Dragon. The title was accompanied by a small drawing of a chubby, sleeping Chinese dragon. Marco assumed it to be the restaurant, but it wasn't a name he recognized. "Uh-huh. And what did you do to it?"  
  
"Wow, paranoid much? I made a special trip all the way to earth to generously procure this meal for you, and in return, all I get is suspicion?" Glossaryck did his best to look offended, but Marco was almost certain it wasn't sincere.  
  
"Alright, alright, sorry." Marco couldn't help but notice that Glossaryck hadn't given him a direct answer, which told him that Glossaryck had done something but wouldn't admit to it. Still, he didn't feel like he had much choice except to play along for the time being. "Thank you for the takeout, Glossaryck."  
  
"You're quite welcome. Oh, and don't forget your fortune cookies." Glossaryck pulled out two plastic wrapped fortune cookies, one from each sleeve of his robe. He dropped one cookie in the bag with the other food, then held the other up to Marco. "I've got a good feeling about this one. But don't tell anybody your fortune, or it might not come true."  
  
Marco raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What? That's not how fortune cookies work."  
  
"Hey, thanks for the information! I'll just file that away with all the other little factoids I've collected while being a magic teacher since before your puny, insignificant race was a twinkle in God's eye." Glossaryck's face twisted into an expression Marco didn't recognize, almost like he knew he had misspoken in some way. "... and by race, I mean the human race, not-"  
  
"I knew what you meant." Marco let out a sharp, judgmental sigh. "I'm just not sure that makes it better."  
  
"Did I ask for your moral approval?" Glossaryck slipped the remaining fortune cookie into a pocket of Marco's hoodie. "Now take the magical wisdom dispensing cookie, and save your lip for your girlfriend."  
  
"She's not my- oh, wait. I guess she actually is now." A nervous smile spread across Marco's face, rather embarrassed at what he nearly said. "Sorry. Reflex."  
  
Glossaryck smiled wide, shooting Marco a sly wink. "I won't tell if you won't."  
  
"Anyway, time to turn a bug back into a princess." Glossaryck gestured toward the door of Star's bedroom. "Try not to have TOO much fun."  
  
"That's the idea." With a deep breath, Marco turned the door knob and headed into the room, finding Star inside, sitting on her bed. When she looked up from her phone compact, she didn't seem particularly surprised to see him, although she was clearly uncomfortable with his presence, her eyes darting nervously away from him.  
  
Marco was already uncertain about Operation Lovebug, but the look on Star's face drained away any remaining confidence he might have had. He turned back to Glossaryck, who was already slipping out the door. "You're really sure about this?"  
  
"Not really." Marco jumped as he heard the response, trying to shove a foot in the door and make his escape, but it was already too late. Glossaryck was on the other side, holding it open just the barest crack. He poked his nose in, whispering quietly to Marco. "You know... I do this because she loves you."  
  
"Yeah, I remember you told me that once before when I was stuck in a room, and I still don't..." Marco did a mental double take as he realized what Glossaryck had just said. "Wait, did you just say because SHE lo-"  
  
Glossaryck slammed the door in Marco's face before he could finish his sentence.  
  
Marco knew there was no getting out of it. He swallowed hard as he turned to face Star, slowly entering into the heart of the lion's den. "H- hey Star."  
  
"Hey... Marco." Star looked about as nervous as Marco felt. That somehow made things a little better for him. At least he wasn't alone in his feelings.  
  
"So... here we are. In your bedroom. Where it's always fun." Marco laughed nervously, taking a seat next to Star on her bed. "I don't suppose Glossaryck explained any of this Operation Lovebug thing to you?  
  
"THAT'S the name he went with? Wow. Classic Glossaryck." Star giggled at her mentor's strange sense of humor, but was quickly reminded of the gravity of the situation. "But no, not really. Glossaryck said you and I would be able to find the answer together. Which, you know... big help."  
  
"Yeah, that sounds about right. This is really the only thing he gave me." Marco held up the bag full of Chinese food for Star to see. "Takeout, I guess. Considering who it came from... we should probably check it for traps."  
  
"Chinese food, huh?" With no table in her room, Star decided to grab a blanket from her closet and lay it out on the floor for a makeshift indoor picnic. "So, what? You think it's still alive or something?"  
  
As Marco set the bag down in the middle of the blanket, his imagination flashed with pictures of the food coming to life, with he and Star being forced into battle against it. It wouldn't be the strangest thing that had happened to him on Mewni. "At this point, I wouldn't rule anything out."  
  
Marco closed his eyes as he took his food from the bag and popped open the lid. When he managed to pry one eye open again, he was pleasantly surprised to find the box full of shrimp lo mein. "Huh... he actually knew my usual."  
  
"Mine too." Star held up her own takeout box and tilted it toward Marco, revealing it to be full of orange chicken and rice. "I know Glossaryck can be pretty... Glossaryck. But he's actually really good about stuff like that."  
  
Marco eyed his box of shrimp cautiously, somehow expecting that it would start moving any second. "... still though."  
  
Star giggled, breaking her chopsticks apart. "Fine, fine. I'll try it first, scaredy cat." She carefully lifted up a bit of the orange chicken for examination. Finding nothing wrong with it, she popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly. "Hmm. It tastes..." Her eyes went wide with surprise as she swallowed. "It tastes almost like..."  
  
"What?" Star didn't seem to be in any immediate distress, but she had clearly found something to be off, and Marco was very curious what it was. "Like chicken?"  
  
"No. Oh no..." Star's face suddenly turned dark as she pushed the box of chicken and rice away.  
  
"What? What is it?" Marco's previous suspicion was now starting to turn to panic. "Is it poison!?"  
  
"Worse! Marco!" Star reached across the blanket, grabbing Marco by his hoodie and pulling him closer. "I think the food Glossaryck got us might be... LOW SODIUM!"  
  
Marco dropped his chopsticks in shock, gasping dramatically. "That FIEND!"  
  
Star and Marco stared at each other in absolute horror. The facade didn't last long. Star broke first, her lips twitching into a small smirk. Marco tried to keep his poker face, but seeing Star's smile made him crack, and a giggle slipped out. Before long, the couple burst out laughing together, taking entirely too long to regain their composure after Star's awful joke.  
  
"So... still think yours is gonna attack, Safe Kid? Do you need me to check for monsters under your food?" Star shot Marco a teasing grin, reaching over to poke him with her chopsticks.  
  
"Safe Kid? Come on Star, you know me better than that by now. I'm a misunderstood bad boy! I'm not afraid of shrimp monsters." Marco prodded back at Star, then gingerly took a bite of the shrimp. He found himself pleasantly surprised at the quality. Between the Chinese food and a desperately needed moment of happiness with his best friend, Marco was shocked to actually find himself grateful to Glossaryck.  
  
"You know, this is actually... nice." Sharing a peaceful indoor picnic with Star, Marco was almost able to believe that nothing was wrong. But the knowledge that it wasn't really true weighted heavy on his mind, and he felt the illusion of normalcy already starting to slip away.  
  
"Yeah. It's... it's great." From her uneasy tone, Marco thought Star was probably thinking along the same lines.  
  
The pair said nothing more for the entire meal. They could hardly stand the oppressive silence, but neither could find the words to fit their feelings. The shared knowledge that Star could transform at any time didn't exactly help the mood. The couple continued to eat quietly, tension slowly building between them as they finished their food.  
  
As Star put her trash back in the bag, she discovered a single wrapped fortune cookie at the bottom. Star quickly perked up as she pulled it out, grateful to have something to take her mind off the awkwardness. "Ooh, fortune cookie! Feels like I haven't had one of these babies in years." Star cracked her fortune cookie, pulling out the message and reading it aloud. "Stop and smell the roses." Star stared curiously at the slip of paper, until a look of understanding slowly spread across her face. "Ohhhhhhhh, I get it! Hey Marco, when this is all done, do you wanna go on a date to royal garden with me?"  
  
"Star, that's not what it..." Gazing at her wide, hopeful smile, Marco found that he didn't have the heart to correct her. Besides, even if her interpretation was a bit literal, she wasn't really that far off. "Heh... sure. That sounds nice."  
  
Star squealed with excitement, tucking the fortune away into the pocket of her dress as a good luck charm. "What about you? Did you get one? What's yours say?"  
  
"Oh, uh... let's see here..." Marco reached into the pocket of his hoodie, pulling out the fortune cookie Glossaryck had given him. He split it open and unfolded the paper, staring at it in confusion.  
  
\- Love is always the answer. -  
  
"... what?" Marco thought the phrase sounded familiar, but he couldn't place where he'd heard it before. He considered showing Star the contents, but soon remembered what Glossaryck had said to him. Against his better judgment, he decided to give Glossaryck the benefit of the doubt. "Mine... doesn't really make sense." It wasn't exactly a lie. Marco had no idea what, if anything, to make of the strange fortune. He didn't really want to keep anything from Star, even if Glossaryck had told him to, but he had no real insight on it in any case. Star tilted her head curiously, wondering what exactly the fortune cookie really said, but she chose to accept Marco's explanation.  
  
With their food finished, neither of the two were sure what to do with themselves, and they could no longer ignore the tension hanging in the air. "So..."  
  
"So...?" Marco rather hoped Star had a follow up, since he could think of no real response.  
  
Star sighed heavily, having put off the conversation for as long as she could. "Marco, are we just gonna sit here and keep pretending nothing is different?"  
  
"...can we?" Marco had been dreading this discussion. Even if he knew it was coming, he had somehow hoped there might be some way out of it.  
  
Star shook her head sadly. "No... I don't think we can."  
  
Marco knew that Star was right. In a way, he was glad that she had been the one to say it. If they were going to get things out in the open, having Star break the ice somehow made it a little easier. Now he didn't feel like he was accusing her of anything.  
  
Marco had been plagued by endless questions over the past few days, but he was finally down to what only Star could answer. "Can I ask you something? Your parents covered of most of my questions, about how the magic worked and all that stuff. But there's something they couldn't tell me." After Moon's ominous reaction to the question, Marco wasn't sure what sort of response to expect, but he felt he had no choice but to ask anyway. "... Star, why were you reading Aphrodisia's chapter?  
  
"Well, you know what they say." Star laughed darkly to herself. "Curiosity killed the... innocent, unsuspecting boyfriend of the magical bug princess."  
  
Marco twisted his face in confusion. "That absolutely is not what they say."  
  
Star gazed back at Marco with the most grim expression he had ever seen on her face. "It is on Mewni." After a moment, Star shook her head, sighing softly. "Okay, look. Everything since we started dating... it's probably been the best time of my life. But it was so good, I just kept wanting more."  
  
Marco was more or less in agreement so far, and he sat across from Star on their picnic blanket, listening attentively to her story. "That night when you touched my wings... it was absolutely amazing. But then you wanted to stop, and I thought... I mean, I didn't think anything bad about YOU, but I thought maybe... I dunno. Like you stopped because you thought we were doing something wrong."  
  
"Marco, I don't want things to always stay the same with us. I want them to always keep getting better." Star paused briefly to search for the right words. "You know how they say if you're not moving forward, you're going backward? It's kinda like that. Like somehow if we didn't keep going, that meant something was wrong with us. I know it's dumb, I don't know why I thought that..."  
  
Marco nodded slowly, considering Star's explanation. He knew he had been a little more conservative in their relationship than she had, and he was quite happy to take things slow and steady. But he understood what she was trying to say. "Yeah, no, I get it. You're right, since we started dating, everything has been just... unbelievable. But maybe that's why I didn't us want to be in a hurry. Because I felt like everything was already so perfect. Does that even make sense?"  
  
"I think so. And believe me, now I wish I'd been thinking like you were. But... here we are." Star fidgeted nervously, a question of her own now weighing on her mind. "Marco, tell me the truth. On a scale of one to weird, how weird are things right now?"  
  
"... I don't know. Since all this stuff started, there are times when it really does feel like everything is normal. Like just now, sitting here, having an indoor picnic, eating low sodium Chinese food with you, talking like nothing is wrong. But..." Marco's contented smile twisted into an awkward frown as quickly as it had appeared. "Other times... it's been SUPER weird. Like, scarfing down a whole cart of Goblin Dogs weird. Like you said, things are different. I don't think they'll ever be undifferent. But that doesn't mean they won't ever be okay."  
  
"Heh... yeah. And I mean, it's not like EVERYTHING is different, right?" Stars scooted closer and smiled warmly at Marco, reaching out to take his hand in hers. "You're still my best friend."  
  
Marco felt his heart jump at the warmth of Star's hand, their fingers lacing together perfectly. Marco returned the gesture, beaming right back at her and taking Star's other hand in his own. "I still have a crush on you. More every day."  
  
"Awwww, Marco! That's the cutest, sweetest..." Star let slip a girlish giggle in response to Marco's flirting. "... corniest thing I ever heard."  
  
Marco flashed a knowing smile. "Yeah, but you love corn."  
  
"Ohhhhoho, you have no idea." Star batted her eyelashes, leaning in closer to Marco, who responded in kind. As the distance between them slowly closed, the pair felt a hot tension beginning to build between them. Star's lips were slowly making their way to Marco's neck, and she was close enough that Marco was starting to feel the warmth of her breath against him. But just as Star felt the excited anticipation beginning to rise in her chest, she suddenly felt something inside her snap.  
  
"Oh no... no, not now!" Star jerked back and out of Marco's grasp, grabbing her chest in pain. "Marco, it's starting! Whatever Glossaryck was trying to do, it didn't work... you have to get out of here!"  
  
Marco showed no hesitation. He jumped to his feet, rushing toward the door, but finding that the knob failed to turn. The door stubbornly refused to budge even when he pushed against it with everything he had. It didn't take Marco long to figure out what had happened, but he was less clear on the why. "Glossaryck, you conniving son of a-" Marco was cut short by a strange rustling sound behind him.  
  
He turned back toward the center of the room, finding a huge pile of purple heart stickers at the center. Marco held his breath as it laid silent, then began to shift ominously.  
  
Marco hadn't actually been present at any Star's initial transformations, but if previous encounters were anything to go by, he had a good guess what came next. He ran to the balcony, desperately searching for another way out. He thought it might be just possible for him to slowly climb down the castle walls, but he suspected he didn't have that kind of time. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard the pile of heart stickers beginning to stir again from inside Star's bedroom.  
  
Running back inside, he fixed his gaze on the pile again. He was suddenly paralyzed with fear as Star arose from the hearts, in the now familiar form of a purple bug creature. She wasted no time as she set her sights on Marco, immediately charging toward him.  
  
Shaking off his terror, Marco twisted out of the way at the last second. After the past few encounters, Marco was starting to understand Star's pattern of attack. and he had gotten better at dodging. He didn't have many other options. Even if he was willing to fight back against Star, which he wasn't, he didn't think he was physically capable of fending her off. Still, he knew he could only avoid her for so long. "Star, listen to me! You don't want this! You have to fight Aphrodisia's magic!"  
  
This time, Star approached slowly, forcing him backwards as she tried pull Marco into a grapple. With great effort, he was able to slip free each time she reached out to grab him, but he was losing ground quickly. Marco knew that if she got a grip, the "fight", such as it was, would be over. "This isn't you! The Star I know would never do something like this!" Star showed no visible reaction to Marco's pleading, continuing to drive him backward.  
  
As Marco took another step back, he felt his leg make contact with something soft. Looking back to see that he just bumped into Star's bed, he suddenly realized that she had gotten him exactly where she wanted him. Taking advantage of Marco's momentary distraction, Star lunged foward, tackling him onto her bed.  
  
Star immediately crawled on top of Marco's body, holding him down on with her weight and sheer strength. Whatever Glossayck's plan had been, Marco was certain this wasn't part of it. Star reached down to tear away Marco's hoodie, and he could hear the fabric beginning to strain as he fought against her grip. In the struggle, Marco noticed something fall out of his pocket, which he recognized as his fortune from earlier. The words written on it suddenly flashed through his head.  
  
'Love is always the answer.'  
  
The revelation dawned slowly as Marco's eyes widened.  
  
'Glossaryck said that we could find the answer together.'  
  
Another memory rose to the surface of Marco's mind as he mentally connected the dots.  
  
'I do this because she loves you.'  
  
Marco finally understood what Glossaryck had been trying to do, or at least he hoped he understood. Though he wasn't certain if this had been the specific plan, he had a guess at what he had to do next. Marco spoke aloud to himself, knowing Star couldn't hear him anyway. "Glossaryck... you better be right about this, you little freak."  
  
With every bit of strength he had in his body, Marco slapped Star's hand away from his chest. Before she could react, Marco closed his eyes and reached up to rest his hands on each side of Star's cheeks, cupping her face in his palms. Leaning up as far as he could, he drew in a deep breath, and pressed his lips gently but firmly against Star's. Marco felt time freeze around him as they made contact. Though at first he felt as though he was with a stranger, as Marco held the kiss, the taste of Star's lips somehow grew more... familiar. Like he had finally managed to reach some part of her, and she was somehow reaching back.  
  
As the heat of the moment slowly died out, Marco realized that Star's assault had ceased. Marco slowly pulled away, and Star held dead still and silent. He stared back into her gaze, and though Star still seemed to lack any conscious awareness, Marco saw the trace of a soul in her alien eyes for the first time. Star turned her head to the side, taking her weight off her arms, and promptly collapsed on Marco. She scooted back and relaxed her body as she rested her head gently against Marco's chest.  
  
Marco was too scared to move. He had no idea whether his idea had worked or if he has merely bought himself a brief respite. He laid perfectly still, and as seconds turned into minutes, Star continued to show absolutely no sign of activity. As Marco listened closely, he sensed that the rhythm of her breaths had gradually become slower and more gentle. After minutes that felt like hours, he realized she had fallen asleep. Breathing a powerful sigh of relief as quietly as he could, Marco decided to follow her lead, and allowed his consciousness to slip away with Star resting silently on top of him.  
  
  
  
The next morning, Moon made her way to Star's room to see what had transpired the previous night. Following Glossaryck's instructions, she had left the room and hallway unguarded and unmonitored, so she had no idea what she expected to find. She feared it would be a scene of physical and emotional devastation similar to that of the Forest of Inevitable Relaxation, or the Magical Sanctuary, but she tried to remain hopeful. Accompanied by Glossaryck and River, the Queen rapped her knuckles gently on the door of Star's bedroom. "Star? Marco? Are you two decent?" After a second knock, and a few seconds of no response, Moon slowly opened the door. Fearing the worst, she peeked inside slowly, followed by her companions.  
  
Moon was amazed to find no signs of a struggle. Not a single piece of furniture was destroyed or even out of place. Her eyes slowly made her way over to her daughter's bed, where she found Star sleeping peacefully in Marco's arms. She was pleasantly surprised that, as far as she could tell, they were both fully clothed this time, and Marco displayed none of the usual shellshock.  
  
"Shh." Marco looked up at Moon and put a finger to his lips. He carefully peeled the top of the blanket away, revealing Star clinging to him, resting face down against his chest.  
  
"It's over." Marco nodded in response to Moon's veiled question, and the queen felt a sense of relief wash over her.  
  
"I'd very much like to know how you did it." Moon began to slowly approach the bed, a look of genuine curiosity on her face.  
  
River reached out from the doorway and took his wife's hand, gently pulling her back. "Darling, please... we should give them some privacy."  
  
"Your Majesty, four transformations in four days?" Glossaryck's voice was full of concern for his student. "Even Star must be hurting after all that. Oh, and Marco could probably use some rest too, I suppose." The last part was said almost as an afterthought, though Marco was at least a little impressed that he had refrained from a smug "I told you so."  
  
Moon paused to consider the request, then nodded, stepping back to the door with a small smile. "We'll be in the throne room. Take all the time you need, dear." The trio slipped out the door together, leaving Star and Marco alone together.  
  
After being drained by recent events both physically and emotionally, Marco was grateful for the chance to rest a while longer. And though things weren't exactly back to normal yet, this moment of quiet intimacy with Star was at least something normal. Something right. For the first time in days, Marco felt true peace in his soul as he held his lover in his arms. He tenderly caressed Star's sleeping form, his touch gradually becoming slower and softer as he began to fall back asleep.  
  
"Marco..." Marco heard a faint whisper that instantly snapped him back to full awareness.  
  
"Star?" Marco blinked in mild surprise. Considering that Star hadn't stirred when Moon came in, he figured she'd be out for a while longer.  
  
Star rested face down against Marco's chest, her words slightly muffled. "I remember now."  
  
Marco wasn't exactly sure what Star was referring to. "Remember... what?"  
  
"Everything." Star slowly raised her head from its resting place against Marco's chest. Tears filled her eyes as she gazed mournfully up at her best friend. "I'm sorry!"  
  
Marco immediately understood what Star had remembered, and what she was apologizing for. "It wasn't your fault..."  
  
"IT WAS!" Star shouted back at him with conviction. "If I had listened to Glossaryck, if I hadn't looked in Aphrodisia's chapter... If I hadn't been in such a hurry..."  
  
Even though he understood what Star was trying to say, Marco still couldn't bring himself to blame her for anything. "There's no way you could've known what would happen..."  
  
"But it still happened! And it happened because of what I did!" Star buried her head back in Marco's chest, trying to hide her tears. "You said I didn't want this, but... didn't I? Glossaryck told me that this happened because Aphrodisia's chapter tempted me with something. Doesn't that mean some part of me really did want this?"  
  
"Star, don't talk like that." Marco knew Star didn't really believe her own words. He knew she might have been tempted into making a mistake, but he also knew Star never would've done what she did if she was in her right mind. "We both know this isn't what you wanted."  
  
"Maybe... but I wanted something. I wanted you. I wanted all of you. And even after everything that happened..." Her voice was barely a whisper as she raised her head again, holding Marco's gaze for several seconds before speaking. "I still do."  
  
"Look at me..." Star sobbed quietly, trying to hold back her tears in front of Marco. "I should be worrying about you and whether you're alright, and I'm so selfish that all I can think about is that I don't want to lose you. I can't go back to the way things were before! Marco, please... Tell me it isn't over! Tell me I don't have to wake up from the dream..."  
  
Marco held Star closer, whispering softly as he lovingly stroked her hair. "Do you remember what happened just before we fell asleep last night?"  
  
Star blushed lightly, glad that Marco couldn't see her face, the memory crystal clear in her mind. She laughed softly through the tears. "You mean that you're a really good kisser?"  
  
"So... that's my answer. Whatever happens after this, I still want it to happen with you. And someday, when we're ready, we can still have... all of each other." Marco reached down to put a hand under Star's chin, briging her gaze up to his. With his other hand, he gently wiped away Star's barely suppressed tears. "You have no idea how much I've missed you. The real you. I'm glad you're back."  
  
Star nodded and rolled off of Marco with a small sniffle, scooting up to lay beside him. "Listen... I know there's probably nothing I can ever do to make this right, but if I can, please let me try..."  
  
Marco sucked in a breath before he spoke, not sure how Star would react to his request. "... your mom wanted me to go see a therapist. I think... maybe we should both go."  
  
Star stared at Marco like she had just learned the meaning of total surprise. "Yeah, sure, and I think that's a good idea, but... Marco, you're serious? I'm here telling you to ask me for literally anything you want, and that's it?"  
  
At Star's insistence, Marco decided to actually stop and think about it. But try as he might, with Star back to being herself, he couldn't come up with anything he wanted that he didn't already have. "Heh, well... I guess you could make me some nachos later."  
  
Star snorted as she tried to stifle a giggle. "You adorable idiot. How can you be okay with everything that happened to you?"  
  
Marco's face slowly fell as he tried to hide his expression from Star. "I'm not." As much as he'd tried to stay optimistic, he knew that he had still had numerous fresh wounds in body, mind, and soul. "Star, I'm scared, and I'm confused. This is probably the most messed up I've ever been in my life. I saw stuff nobody should ever have to see. It's gonna be weird for a while. I don't know when things will be completely normal again." Marco reached a hand out to touch Star's cheek, smiling softly as he gazed deep into her eyes. "But I'd rather be messed up with you than normal without you."  
  
"Marco!" Star wrapped her arms around Marco, clinging to him and resting her head on his shoulder. She had been on the verge of tears before, but now wept openly, her tears staining Marco's hoodie as the pent up emotions of the past few days came rushing out. As Star cried, Marco began to cry with her, neither knowing which emotion finally broke them. The couple's tears flowed from relief, happiness, exhaustion, fear, and a few other emotions they didn't recognize. But most of all, they cried because they both knew, after all their trials and tribulations, that they could still call each other "friend".  
  
When the two finally ran out of tears, Star and Marco laid silent in each others arms for what felt like an eternity, now simply savoring the warm comfort of their closeness.  
  
"Hey... Marco?" Star hesitantly broke the silence. Before Marco could even open his eyes, Star gently brought her lips up to his. After holding the kiss for a few seconds, she drew away, her eyes wide and shining with warmth and happiness. Star nuzzled against Marco's shoulder, her warm breath teasing his neck lightly as she let out a soft giggle.  
  
"Yeah." Marco didn't need any explanation. He leaned over and pecked Star softly on the cheek, pulling her as close to him as he could, silently wishing the moment would last forever. Marco whispered two small words in Star's ear before he gently drifted off to sleep beside his friend and lover.  
  
"Me too."


End file.
